“ONE CHANCE”
Tags: Lovestory, Life, Poetry Writing, Relationships, Education

Decided to give a friend a lift from work

All smiles, we got on the journey together

Shared jokes, had a swell time with me on the wheels

Nonetheless, it was a nice way to end the stressful day

Little did I know that my bubble was about to get burst

All of a sudden, these LASTMA officials flagged me down

And as a responsible citizen, I wanted to obey constituted authority

Citing that I disobeyed some rules, they got into the car.

I asked my friend to get down and find her way while I clear myself

The LASTMA officials drove me back to their station and confiscated the car

The bill they gave me to pay was so much, that I couldn’t afford at that instant

I, therefore, left their office to find another means home

Panting, hands akimbo at the bus stop

Someone always got to the oncoming bus before me

Stressed, I got a bottle of soda to quench my thirst

At last, I thought I finally found one

Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to my destination

Day turned to dark and the dark into the night

Like a swarm of bees returning from the days work, we kept increasing

Picked my phone for my ride-hailing app

In 10 minutes, I got on for a long cruise home

Happy I was, and I am sure you reading this feel the same

I plugged my ears on the ride, enjoying Ed Sheeran’s new album

Just as I thought all was well, I was terribly caught unawares

My ride just developed a very big fault that couldn’t be repaired on the spot

I got stranded in the middle of nowhere

Then I remembered a very profound adage from my father

“If there’s no way forward, at least you know where you are coming from’

I picked my briefcase and started trekking back to the bus stop

You can imagine how my feet were dragging on the untarred road

Frustrated, every ounce of strength in me gone

I could see other passersby shaking their head at my condition

Gathered what was left of me and headed back to the station

Picked my phone to call a few friends to help

Unavailable, the network provider replied.

Here I was, back where I started

I didn’t even know when Yoruba hymns started flowing from my mouth

A BMW X7 swerved right in front of where I was sitting

Everybody rushed towards it to get in as usual

The owner locked the doors, and they all left disappointed

A part of me was happy they didn’t get in because I didn’t even try to hustle with them.

The glasses of the posh car was all tinted

I was just staring at how beautiful the car was

And then, the doors clicked

I just sat there, looking sideways for any sign of hustle

The owner began to walk in my direction

My heart skipped a beat because I was about to leave my seat

The angel in me told me to calm down, and the owner asked me to walk into the car

A drowning man they say would clutch at a straw

Of course, this was more than a straw, it was a big ship.

The comfort therein was not in this world

My body fell like a pack of cards

And I slept like a log of wood

Waking up, I discovered we had gotten past my destination

Spoke to the driver, perhaps we could turn back

Much to my surprise, I got a shocking reply that went thus:

“You’re in my one chance now, and there is no going back”

I was confused on whether to be happy or sad

I always wanted to move on my own terms

All the stories I heard about one chance kept reverberating

God of Elijah, don’t let me be dumped in a rural area

We continued cruising like we owned the roads

Till finally, we got to an unknown destination

Unlike other stories, it wasn’t in the bush far deep in a village

Here we are oh Paradise!!!