"To or not to" by Emmanuel Adesanya

To live or not to live…

The breath in us –

The only seal of life?

Our hearts beat in us as Humanity

But we do not all live life truly,

Like stars in the sky at night

Or snakes on rocks at sight?

To die or not to die…

What even is death?

Only that which, our eyes, in sleep eternal close?

Or that which is, when we stop dreaming?

Our deaths – our choices!

Freedom or Oppression?

Eternity or Extinction?

To cry or not to cry…

Tears are but mirrors

Of the pains and joys we carry, in us deep.

Tears are but alkaline purges

Of the grief we carry, in our soul’s navel.

The one who cries, yet through tears, smiles,

Is the one with the strength of will – to live!

To laugh or not to laugh…

The flag-bearer of victory

In the face of sure defeat.

The mysterious anthem of love

While dining with foes.

The sweet language of the soul that knows

And sings – after night comes the day!

To fall or not to fall…

The stones in the path; the hill and the valleys

And the stumbling blocks – life’s learning citadel.

A covenant potent, between man and earth, lies.

We do not for life, fall

Our falls, only till we hit the earth, last.

To see, to follow the steps of heroes gone.

To rise or not to rise…

Life kicks in the teeth.

Light stabs darkness in the back.

In the fall, is the birth, of the will

The baton to take; the race to finish.

The plant rises only, in the ground – after dark days.

With every fall, a rise comes – with the sun to dine.

To speak or not to speak…

The soul without its own voice,

Among the dead, has a mansion.

In the voice is the power –

The chains to break and to preserve it.

From it flows the elixir of life and the poison of death!

To be silent or not to be…

To speak, the need is worthy only

Of the wisdom and reason to speak.

In silence, the wisdom of ages lies

From disguised lies, thke truth, to listen and to glean.

The silent man is not the foolish one.

The silent man is worthy of fear, whose ways are

hidden.

To believe or not to believe…

Water in the desert; path in the ocean.

The eye, the mind wills, what is not, to see.

The heart, the eyes tricks, the naught it sees, to trust.

The true believer is the one – like a horse, to him, the

wind is,

With the power of seeming nothingness

And rides it into the morrow.

To hate or not to hate…

The mark, the arrow hits,

The venom, all over spreads.

Forgiveness flees; evil lurks.

The heart darkens; the limbs cripple.

In halves, the bridge breaks; loneliness walks in, with

a smile,

And the fear that plays with you, before it dominates.

To love or not to love…

The same mark, the arrow hits,

The veil torn; in sunshine streaks.

The war ends; the weapons are buried.

A fire, within, comes alive; without end, glowing.

The scars stay – relics of the painful past.

Over them, the light washes – promises of a future

sparkling.

To…or not to…

Lie, in our hands, the choices –

Whoever we want to be,

Whatever we want to do.

They do not die – choices; beyond us, they live,

Our lives’ tales to tell

To generations following the trails we leave behind.

Emmanuel Adesanya is a 300-level student of the Department of Communication and Language Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State. He is a writer with the passion to change his society with his creative works. He lives in Ibadan with his family.