A Thing Not To Fear Poem by Erhiawarien Justice Akpesiri

I
A friend I lost years long ago
One good friend I dearly loved
Whose love I knew was strong and sure
We played, we ate
We cheered, we cried
We skinned our knees and soiled our hands
We learnt of things we never knew
I wish I had him all till now
His coming back, alas, I dread
How I dread my friend’s return
His coming back, so much to mar.

II
I’ve heard the tales of angry ghosts
How they slew and took revenge
Killing all unfriendly hosts
And even some who knew not what
My fear was right, so scared I grew
“In wrath he’d come” so I was told
“His angered soul will take revenge”
That once his pet I badly hurt
His purring cat so white with furs
A dire mishap, regretted I
An accident, of course it was
But then I wondered what I’d done
A cat of whom so fond was I
How well it purrs and did mischief
Chasing rats and stealing fish
And all the pranks of mindless beasts
How bad it hurt when dead it died
From that one wound I made it bore
An accident, of course it was
A kitten friend so good to hold.

III
Soon thereon, he passed away
This jolly friend of mine but gone
His pet was gone and so was he
These two of mine, my friend, his pet.

IV
How dreaded me, my lot of guilt
And how I dread my friend’s return
The many thoughts of ghastly things
That would become my lot so soon.
I greatly fret his coming back
To rip my heart in shreds and bits
And spilling blood, as I was told
Yet I wondered, so be it!
For friends we were, and so were we
Better than friends, as close as kin.
I hate him now, his act I scorned
Although he acted never so
Not at all, for he was dead.

V
Drained I grew of vexed concerns
I wouldn’t eat, I shunned all things
I grew so pale, and life so vain
But then my father took the pain
To tell me this and help me live
That I may never die so young:

“Listen, my son, be not afraid
Be not afraid of empty tales
Of empty lies, do not be scared
Your friend he was, I knew it so
You loved thyselves
This too I know
I’m sure you were, for you were friends”

VI
He tried to woo my fears away
Yet his words I doubt in fear
I feared my death, so frail my heart
But dad would never let me die
He brought the usual Book of Books
The Holy Book we used to read
The words it says, we do not doubt
He opened it and searched for verse
Ecclesiastes chapter nine
He ask me read verse five, then six
A place I read I won’t forget
The things I read, my heart was touched
And now my fears were set to fade.

VII
Having read, I looked on him
His eyes so stern yet full of care
Such show of care he barely makes
The things expressed are yet unfurled:

“Listen, son, listen to dad,
You have been told some foreign things
You have been made to fear the dead
Some sponsored tales of angry ghosts
Strange voices that speak, but truth
You mustn’t fear what you were told
Believe the lie is what they wish.
The dead lay dead once they are dead
They do not think nor pull a sword
They do not shake nor blink an eye
They love no more nor hate again
Believe the Book that God supplied
Believe the words contained therein
I’m sorry, son, you friend is dead
Your fear of him, so wrong and vain.”

VIII
Nothing so said could I refute
He spoke and said the things divine
The truth I knew I must embrace
But then my thoughts were crawling wrong.

“Do you recall, ” he further saith
“Do recall the truth we’ve learnt
The Holy Book shall tell no lie
The story told in Genesis
How Adam of God was made
The seventh verse of chapter two
‘He came to be a living soul’
He did became a living soul
As then with life God breathed on him
He was the soul, the very soul
Not a form that dwells within,
That leaves the being when he is dead.
I am a soul, a living soul
We all are souls, and so the birds
The beasts, the fish
They all are souls
They live and die like you and I
If I should die, a soul is dead
Just as your friend, my son, he’s dead.

In Ezekiel, you may recall
In Ezekiel, eighteen verse four
You see, my son, we are the souls
We are the souls that live and die
Not a form that leaves us dead.”

IX
He paused a while to see through me
I couldn’t tell how then I looked
But then he started off again
He felt I’d ask yet more a thing
He sensed it all and waited not
So glad he did, my shame to ask

“The spirit, son, is not a thing
It’s not a thing to call a man
It’s just the breath, the breath of life
The breath we need to keep alive
Just like the force that makes this work
This little box that sings and talks
Electric force you cannot see
The force without a given form
When it goes, it goes nowhere
When it goes, it’s simply gone
Just like the flame a candle brings
When it goes, where does it go?
The candle then will cease to burn
This little box ceases to work.
So goes the force that dwells with us
The breath we breathe that makes us live.
When we cease to breathe again
When our breath has gone away
Then you know a soul is dead.
It’s not a man within a man.
It’s not a man within as thought.

XI
Now you see you need not fear
Fear not my son, the sleeping dead
Believe the lie is all they want
Bad agents we call demons
They your fear to fight your heart
To fight our God and test your faith
That you may shun the truth you’ve learnt
May you not fear the dreams of night
May they all fade into the air.

XII
Your friend is dead
He’s simply gone.”