(…for Ogbonnaya Agwu and his irreplaceable loss. December 2015)

It was just a simple phrase

But when dropped, his world stood still

Mine slowed down from the spill

Yes this world, this strange place

What then should I say?

Should I remind him he’s no more here?

Or will I say I understand

This complex science of sand-to-sand?

We tangle in a web of life

Like spiders dodging drops of rain

“Hang on”, we tell the ones we love

But we ourselves let go and fill them with pain

I wish I could clean your tears

I wish I could relive the years

Of a life written in permanent ink

Memories that fade but never die

But I will lend my heart to your pains

I will stand by you till time mends

The vacuum of his absence

Until we all see His Presence