Three score plus four
This is a long time
Enough time for success
Plenty of time to fail
Adequate time for lessons to be learnt
And for many things to be set aside
Three score plus four
Enough for prosperity and abundance
Sadly, time wasted on innumerable wrongs
While millions toil and sweat from cock crow to sunset
Doing all they can to make the years count
There are many who want to reap where they have not sown
Or uproot and lay to waste what they have not planted
Some keep speaking on behalf of a maker who made all, sees all and knows all
They ‘speak for him’, ‘hear from him’, ‘see him’ and ‘know him’
Then they proceed to plunder from the millions who toil and sweat from cock crow to sunset
While they plant crops that the farmers they hired to till the fields cannot afford to eat
Three score plus four
Enough time for knowledge to pass from one generation to the next
To share teachings of peace, love, honesty, service
Alas!
As the years go by
We instruct but do not learn
We get older but we do not grow
We step over bodies to grab what we desire
We preach peace we do not practice
We speak of love but it tastes bitter in our mouths
We say many things but they have no meaning
We think we know it all but understand nothing
We do not accept that just because we can does not mean we should
We are called to serve but we demand to be served
We abhor snakes – we do not keep them as pets, give them as gifts or lay with them at night
Yet, we speak with tongues full of venom, we gift evil unto others
and we wrap invisible snakes around us day and night
Three score plus four
The mighty prey on the weak
The weak seek out those even weaker than themselves
I say a prayer for my country at three score plus four
May all those who toil from cock crow to sunset reap the fruits of their labour
May their barns and bellies be full
May their children’s cries not be hunger pangs
May mothers cease mourning their sons
May fathers stop wailing over their daughters
May tribe and tongue cease to differ
May those whose eyes are closed be opened
May those whose eyes are open see clearly
May those with hard ears hear the whispers of the ancestors
May we forget what needs to be gone
May we remember so that we do not forget
May our folly become wisdom
May we learn from the good, the bad and the ugly
May we unlearn what has caused us to fail
May the mighty show mercy
May the weak become strong
May the strong know to whom much is given, much is expected
May teachers become learners
May learners have discernment
May we receive love in our hearts
May we speak only what we know not just what we hear
May our children know that the sky is wide enough for all birds to fly
May we release the poisonous snakes we have enabled in our lives back into the wild
Or better still, set them alight in a pit deep enough to hold all our anger, fear and despair
Three score plus four
Enough time to forgive
Enough time for forgiveness
Enough time to know
Enough time to be right
Enough time to rise
Enough time to shine
Enough time to hope
Three score plus four
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Policy Advocate and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com