Preface

We do not seek fame,

rather we earnestly pray,
that birds will carry our words
and drop them on roofs
that need strength.
 Copyright © 2020 by Fortune Maine

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means-electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording,
or otherwise-without the written permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Fortune Maine

Editor: Nnabuife Onyinyechukwu

 To the bones that have gotten weak.
I’ve brought my words to give you calcium,
to give you strength again.
Give these bones
calcium
 Do not dim your light,
for you are a path
many will follow.

A bible verse,
many will hold unto.

Someday,
people will look at their pain,
and say you survived,
so they will.
 Yes!
the pain will rip you apart,
tear you in half,
cut you open,
but it won’t end you.
 I’m learning healing takes time,
that he loves walking on foot.

and right now,

he is still 1000 km away from you.

But do not give up,

he will surely arrive.
 Of all the mentors i have,
i cherish the moon the most.

It has taught me
that even in the midst of darkness,
you can still turn yourself into a light bulb

cause all the electricity

and the right amount of voltage you need,
flows in your blood stream.
 I’ve observed that
there is a bond between
pain and camphor.

They only stay for a little while

and then vanish into
thin air.
 On my worst days,
in the hardest of times,
i tell myself this is rainfall
and the weather has taught me
rain doesn’t fall for too long.
 Sometimes,
some things have to really fall apart,
for things to fall in place.
And it’s totally okay
to start again,
to start over,
to start afresh.
 Somewhere in the future,
there is a you, wishing he could come back in time
to hug your worries, sit close to your bones
and tell it to keep being strong,
that everything will fall in place.
 Keep growing
Keep healing
Keep fighting
Keep pushing
Keep living.

Someday,
our very own lives,
will taste like candy.
 A day will come
maybe not today
maybe not tomorrow
maybe not this week
maybe not this month
maybe not this year

but one day,

happiness will find you again,
it will climb its way to your heart
and mop off everything that has caused you pain.
 I’ve come to learn that
acceptance is not something
to be asked from others,
you have to accept you
and when you do,
that is enough.
 A new beginning
starts from the moment
you walk into your heart,
dust the furniture,
remove the cobwebs,
change the sheets
and invite courage
to come live in it.
Even with a box full of pain,
trauma and sufferings,
just being alive,
is a gift.
I discovered that the difference
between a camel and a horse,
is speed

and that most times,

life gets to choose the animal,
it wishes to ride on.
 And some days,
all that will be needed from you,
is to hold your skeleton together
and stay strong.

Research shows that

the human bone is stronger than steel,
so act like it.
 Do not let pain
harden your heart.

You are still a garden

and there are still flowers in you.
 I feel
moving on and solving math,
belong to the same family.

cause,
i am awful
at doing both.
 I was asked to name
the slowest animal alive

and healing
walked out of my lips
like someone going out
to receive an award.
 Right now,
progress may look like
it has the same walking step
as that of a snail.

But
just keep going,
goodness will meet you along the way.
 You might not be where you want to be,
but where you are in this moment,
is where you are meant to be.

I’m learning
that a butterfly doesn’t just wake up with wings,
it first learns how to crawl.
 sitting with a group of friends,
i was asked what was the hardest thing
i ever accomplished?

And i replied;
trying to stay alive,
trying to breathe under water.
 And in the course of healing,
do not rush your recovery,
allow your wounds to completely heal,
learn to give time time.
 Someday soon,
all these pain will peel off from your skin
and your tongue will forget
what trauma tastes like.
 I pray you find the courage
to come out of the things,
your lips develop stage fright
to talk about.
 Someday,
your mind will put on some sneakers
and run back in time.

It will run to the days life was worthless,

the days your bones felt like giving up,
the time depression replaced your last name.

It will grab a chair, sit and watch

how happiness left your home, soul and body.
How your heart developed a tear gland,
from too much agony.

It will come back to the present you,

stare at you for a minute or two

and say to itself,

the courage that kept you living,
deserves a grammy.
 You will be fine,
you will get through this phase
and your feet will walk into happy days
again.
 You are a warrior.
You have been a warrior
and you have won so many battles
that got you thinking this was going
to be the end of it all.

But you are still here,

living, breathing and thriving,
so keep fighting,
this war, is no different.
The pain will subside,
do not freak out.
 One day,
we will raise glasses
to all the things that held our breath
and thought we will run out of oxygen.
 You ought to learn the art
of enjoying your own company,

so you don’t always need to lean on someone

to transfuse happiness
into your soul.
 I’m grateful
i found the strength to swim out of that ocean,
to swim out of my own tears.
 Tell scientists,
that some of us have touched the sun.
we have felt its clothing,
we have perceived its fragrance

and yes!
we almost got burnt,
but it didn’t melt us,

we lived
and we are still alive.
 Even to this day,
i never thought i would pull through,

i thought that was the end,

i never noticed there was a bend.
 All i have come to know
about dwelling in the past,
is that

it is a treadmill machine
that will make you feel like you are running,
but still keeps you at that same spot.
Training your tongue and teaching it
to always say nice things to yourself,

is a different kind of beauty

you will ever own.

There is no flower,
more beautiful than that.
 You owe it to yourself
to keep moving,
even with a flat tyre,
even when all the reasons that say you can’t
are in the vehicle too.
 I’m learning that
no matter how a building collapses,
it can always be rebuilt.

So do not call this

your end.
 It’s true that life is a cruel boxer,
the kind that starts hitting his opponent without
caring if he is ready or not.

a proud beast
a crazy fighter
an insane wrestler
and i know you detest him,

but from all the times

i have watched life hit people,

he made them
stronger.
 If there is anything i have learnt,
is knowing that there is no force of hurricane
that can consume a house
that refuses to be
ripped apart.
The End
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fortune Maine is a writer and an award winning poet

Currently studying at the university of
Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
 Where to find me

INSTAGRAM: fortune_maine
TWITTER: fortune_maine
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special gratitude goes to Queen Onyinye, Dr ken,

Kelly pepple, Vanessa avre, Marvy wasurum,
Favour ezekiel, Aye daniel, Marlene, Dr chibu,
Uchechi, Bara OT and to everyone that supported
and pushed me to the completion of this collection.
You guys are the real Mvps,
with a heart filled with love,
i say thank you.
THANK YOU