By R.A Yusuf
I’m a frustrated soul
Mired in the turbulence of the present;
Contemplating a nebulous future.
Not knowing where to turn.
The past had held great promise;
Or so it appeared.
Everything was pristine,
Life was good;
Or so it appeared.
With little resources so much was mine
For the asking;
I travelled across the world; in style!
Gorged on what I fancied;
Guzzled whatever was on offer.
Life was so good,
Or so it appeared.
After shopping at Macy’s,
Dinner in New York;
Breakfast in London.
Shopping at Harrods and Selfridges.
Late lunch in Africa.
Oh, life was good
Or so it appeared.
Finally back home;
Africa my home.
Across three continents in 24 hours!
Life was so, so good;
Pristine!
Or so it appeared.
Oh, the Past, glorious Past –
Once upon a good time
Some call it FORMERLY,
But FORMERLY, where art Thou?
I am always reminded of you,
Glorious Past, our Formerly.
Once upon a good time!
I get to the market this morning,
And I’m reminded of you, Formerly;
Again and again.
And I lament to the seller,
“But why?”
“Oga, why what?”
“I mean, everything is so expensive;
It wasn’t like this Formerly,
In the past.”
Sharp, saucy, piquant and jolting
The riposte:
“Oga, why, you too dey complain nah,
Abeg, dis na early morning o, abeg.
Make u go your Formerly o
Go buy am cheap, cheap nah.”
Away she walks from her stall.
I’m left stranded in the present.
Transfixed, bemused.
Is it no longer a buyers market?
With so much money,
Little purchasing power.
Humble pie.
“Madam, come now.”
Frowning, grumbling, mumbling
Madam trudges back
Taking her time; really taking her time;
I wait. I wait.
Reality check.
Thought it was a buyers market,
No.
Obviously, not when you are from Fornerly.
This is NOW, the PRESENT
My allusion to formerly must have drained her of all energy.
This pathetic man
I wait.
She stops to talk to another seller.
I must be the subject of their conversation.
And I wait
They both look in my direction –
The man from Formerly;
Amusement written all over them.
Meanwhile, where is Formerly?
Formerly…
Where everything was pristine
Each was the other’s keeper and helper; Everyone was a brother and a sister;
You had no need to spend huge amounts
On so little…
Life was good.
But not anymore.
“Yes, Oga Formerly.!”
I was jolted out of my reverie.
“You no dey go Formerly again?”
Oh, yes!
Woe is me! Lost my capacity for offence.
This saucy stall owner.
It is still the present.
“Yes madam, how much is everything?”
I pay for my purchases;
Yes, through the nose;
No “thank you” from the seller.
Reality of the Present
Take it or leave it.
How did we come to this pass?
We need the Past
Its lessons
To understand our Present.
And our Present
Its challenges
To navigate our Future.
For now I’m still here;
Seeking, and searching for a one way ride to Formerly.”
Who will take me THERE?