Heart Scribbles

  Can we just live Without being scared of the future?   Can we just love Without fear of being heartbroken?   Can we just give Without fear of being taken for granted?   Can we just eat Without fear of body insecurities?   Can we just laugh Without masking tears behind the golden gate of 32 solid teeth?   Can we just learn Without worrying about failures?   Can we just enjoy our loved ones Without the fear of losing them someday?   Can we just give a sincere answer to "how are you?" Without summarizing how we feel into "I'm fine"?   Can we just be at peace Without bothering so much about what someone else thinks?   Can we just have a beautiful world?  

  My pen bleeds With words that come straight out of a heavy heart The Land is flooded And its foundation is shaken The Land bleeds The nation cries out   Nigeria is soaked! The blood of innocent lives have saturated the soil Lives lost from stray bullets, misfired shots and injustice The Land bleeds The Nation cries out   We are getting accustomed to the sound of gunshots We stare unshaken at our TV screens as news of insecurity is no longer "news" Masked armed men now own our roads The Land bleeds The nation cries out   Education is the key to success Yet, the lock has remained jammed over the years Strikes, less qualified tutors, unpaid lecturers, yet the clock keeps ticking Tomorrow is here, but, the leaders are denied the throne The Land bleeds The nation cries out   The air is dampened by fear Fear of sexual abuse We no longer feel safe In our own fatherland The Land bleeds The nation cries out   Youths h

  "I will tell my mummy"... The molester looked at me in shock as I looked into his face and sternly made that statement. That statement saved me from what would have been a recurrent episode of child sexual abuse about 17/18 years ago. That statement was so shocking to him that he hurriedly let me go and never came close to me again. Sexual abuse is a very common tragedy, many have either experienced it or come close to experiencing it, yet we treat it as something that is very far from our society. Some persons do not even want to talk about it because they consider it to be irrelevant. However, many people are living with the painful trauma of sexual abuse with no one to talk to and this is really heartbreaking. Being abused is one thing, wanting to talk even after being threatened is another, having nobody to "tell" is a whole lot also. Okay, let's do a quick exercise. Take a deep breath. Take another one. Take another. Sorry, Take yet another. O

The blacksmith takes shattered pieces of metal and tries it through hot flames before it becomes gold, a beauty to behold.  He shows no mercy to the raw material as it takes it through the heat, because his eyes are fixed on the sparkling gold the fire will produce. God allows us go through trying times, sometimes, it feels as if our entire world is crumbling, other times, you can literally hear your heart pounding so hard in pain. The heat of the fire leaves scars in our hearts, our pillows are soaked from teary nights, our hearts are pained from the hurt of fresh wounds, yet, our faces beam with rehearsed plastic smiles that shade the hurt. God sees, He knows and he allows us go through these moments, because he is shaping us into the reality of what he has in mind for us. He takes those shattered pieces and turns them into pure gold, passed through fire: a masterpiece!

  Words are very powerful; they could have a lifelong impact on a person's life. Positive words have helped shape the lives of many; however, negative words have ruined so many people. A lot of people would have accomplished mind-blowing things but for some negative words that caused them to hold back the greatness they had within them. While sexual abuse as well as its effects continue to gain due attention, verbal abuse is another silent monster that has ruined, if not ended the lives of a great number of people. Freedom of speech isn't actually free. Verbal abuse costs a great deal. Aside costing the lives of its victims, it also costs their self esteem. They in turn begin to seek solace in different things, which eventually lead to addictions and substance abuse. While some persons may term their being "bad-mouthed" as freedom of speech, others may hide it under the shadow of being blunt. Being blunt isn't entirely wrong, but it becomes a problem w

"Deborah, I read your essay, it is excellent", "Oh, are you Deborah Agbo?, Your essay is superb", " Debby, you are good o, I'm sure you will win"..... These were some of the comments I received from my teachers and friends after I submitted my entry for an essay competition organized by the then Minister of Education for FCT secondary schools. Fast forward to the grand finalé, I wore my well ironed uniform( I actually hated ironing, well I still do.. but then...), I was looking all ready to go and get my prize. We got to the FCT archive house for the event, different schools were present for the ceremony. Alas! it was time to announce the winners. I could literally hear the sound of my heart's beat. I was expecting to win, truth be told. "The 3rd runner up is....", My heart raced faster. "The second runner up is...." I felt like running up to the stage already (smiles). To make matters more interesting, the moderator said..