"An ode to dry plants" by Akinro Oluwatosin Gloria

They were once so green I believe,

And lived in a world of water, sun and the music of the

wind,

With a vision of love to unfold, beauty to be grown,

Then that monster, the beast reality came with a

sledgehammer,

And shattered the sun into a zillion tiny pieces

They did try to pick the shards,

Of the only source of light and life they ever knew,

All they earned were bruises and cuts for their

zealotry,

Hope grew out its wings and flew away,

And left the dust of desolation in its wake

As all things on the little orb,

Life slowly but insidiously started its decaying process

Day and night had no form of distinction,

Dreams melted away like plastic on the boil,

And coagulated again as ugly nightmares

You who promised water in the dessert,

Let light shine from Golgotha's hill where skies went

dark,

And from the torn veil, let glory seep through,

So that strength may soar and peace becomes still,

Remind them once again what the sun felt like

Akinro Oluwatosin Gloria is a 400-level student of the Department of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bowen University, Iwo Osun State.