If I Die Before I Crawl Poem by Ojeikpo Elijah

Envies and hatred
Are witchcraft
Died rich or poor
In nakedness still counted the mortals.

Parents are so expected
they demand the baby to get
down on all fours
Crawl and rises unto the awaiting sky

If I die...
Before I crawl
Many will deny I was born
Though I had seen the rising sun

Could my soul roam here after?
Roaming the realm of spirit
Will the earth agreed I lived?
And my foes will reap their sow?

Who remember the dead?
The God created the death beside life
Life would be unfair
Having refused to crawl but cradle to the grave.

If I die...
Before I crawl
Before the cock crow.
Would my garment be drench
With crimson tears for still born