A Valuable Lesson Poem by Kenneth Maswabi

For too long
We valued money more than anything
Even more than time or education
We placed the value of money beyond ourselves
We created a place in our hearts where we worshipped money
We moulded our lives around the pursuit of money
From morning to night we chased after money
Our busy schedules were loaded with money making schemes
The food we eat and the house we own
Depended on the size of our wallets
The value of money was everything to us
Our egos were bloated
We were sons and daughters of materialism

Then came coronavirus disease-19 aka COVID-19 outbreak
And pushed us back to ourselves (houses)
Deflating our egos
We found ourselves buried in fear
And our money could not dig us out of this hole
We found ourselves in the thicket of powerlessness
And our egos could not lend us a hand
We found ourselves in the pool of confusion
And our money could not buy us clarity

Then we opened our hearts
Where we found comfort in prayer
We found comfort in companionships and friendships
We found comfort within the deepest parts of our being
We found ourselves ransacking the spiritual shelves of our hearts
Looking for pieces of faith, hope and love
We found ourselves deep in the realm of the spirit
Foraging for the fruits of the spirit
We found humility, kindness and compassion
We found peace and freedom
We found the truth
And we found Love in the deepest parts of our hearts

Together we rose up
And channelled all our energy to helping each other
Breaking all walls of selfishness
We called on our governments
To feed the poor
We called on each other
To heed the message
To wash our hands
Practice social distancing
And stay safe
We found our true selves

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