She had to redeploy for her NYSC
Her body couldn’t take the stress
Though she longed for the adventure
Pain has marked her limitations
Misery has taught her to cave in
Like when she wanted to learn to swim
Her parents said NO!
She jumped into the pool
CRISIS!!!
Her body is such a Judas
She learnt to settle for less
Always her dreams are lofty
Always her reality is bleak
Why wouldn’t her body match its pace
Why should normal be impossible
Why should life be so unlivable
Always on borrowed time
Always in crisis
Always a leg in the grave
She asked her mother
What is wrong with me?
Her Father cried
The Doctor was calm
‘Your blood is sickle’
It is an inherited condition
Sick sickle
Sickly Sickle Cell
Keeps her tied to fatality’s whim
Guys especially are cowards
She says ‘Sickle Cell’
They hear ‘Mayday Mayday’
At 28 she met a guy
She: I am an ‘SS’
He: I know
She waited for him to run
He kissed her
She felt her blood gradually warming up
She felt her heart beating life
She felt the touch of a lover for the first time
It was heavenly, absolutely rhapsodic
And he came back
He would drag her into obscure places
Steal a kiss, a touch
Sometimes his eyes will roam suggestively
And strange waters will sing in her tropical places
Then he proposed!
Why did he do that?
She cried.
She was too scared to marry anybody
Why cant things be as they are?
He wanted to take her
She wanted him to take her
But he wanted to marry first?
She: Take me as I am, unfettered
He: No, I love you, i want to be your husband
She: No, I don’t love you. I am sick, I am a liability, just take me and walk away anytime you want
He: No
She: Please!
He didn’t
She stripped, tantalized him
He was resolute
He would not to used as a mere pleasure stick
She was adamant, why would she marry him and bring her problem into his life?
He would eventually hate her
He is talking of love because he has never seen her crisis
He pushed
She pushed back
He spoke with members of her family
She called it quits
He sent her a note
‘My love kept you from crisis for two years, my love kept you warm during those cold weathers you dreaded, my touch kept your bones quiet when they screamed. Find love and live’
He got married two years later
Her entire family attended his wedding
They knew he fought for her love
She was at the wedding too
That night, crisis came with a vengeance
She shivered and cried and groaned in agony
As he reveled in the touch of another woman
It was hell
Six years later she found love again
He proposed
She accepted
His family kicked, ‘SHE IS LIABLE TO DIE YOUNG!’
He was resolute
Her family asked her if she was sure
She had learnt her lesson
Love beats death any day
And the touch of a lover beats crisis
She held on and married him.
Crisis was written by Gbenga Samuel-Wemimo
