If you ask him where he’s been
He’ll say around,
It takes too many words
To say what he’s done and seen
He’s been to heaven
He’s been to hell
But he had to die first
Before he learnt to live
If you ask him what he’s seen
His stories abound
He gambled against the odds
Still winning and still so keen
But he’s been to heaven
He’s been through hell
See, he had to die first
Before he learnt to live
A long road travelled since eighteen
All his life like a lusty hound
He’s been fighting the gods
Still he is betting to win
He’s been to heaven
He’s been to hell
But he had to die first
Before he learnt to live.
*****
There’ll be spam in your email
The day after you die
Maybe smoke from naked fires will rise
And foam from shaken bottles froth
Some will pray and even dance.
And some will try to speak for god
Some things we doubt but of this I am certain
We are all naked underneath it all
Trying to live before we leave
Because you did not die if nobody grieves
Sometimes you find love. Or just warmth.
Or hushed secrets beneath the sheets
A little light, a little shade
All the earth is a shade of Ochre
____________Martins lives in Lagos. He is currently working towards publishing his first collection of short stories. In a previous life, he wrote an unpublished romantic novel.
