My Ostracised Companion Poem by Eric Zinbabora Batung

The world that loved me,
Yet left me alone
In the corridors of solitude.
Where endurance was paramount.
But death seemed more palpable.

The dread of departure was the reason
Why I cried my heart out in protest
To the curse of being born.
Advent precedes exodus,
So I have finally arrived only to depart;
Such a silly cycle of life and death.

The rose sprang up with optimism.
The lily embraced my coming.
The rivers teemed with life,
And watered my hopes.
Until I learnt to smile back at life.

All but one was joyful, the ostracised.
Alone in the dark lonely place,
You sought companionship but found none.
The evergreen flowering of my life was my curse,
So you forced the love of the vessel that loved me.

Even as the tears dry from our faces
And we rediscover our happiness,
You lurk around the dark corners beckoning us,
Parading your awfulness along the roadside
And caressing us on our sick beds.

You keep on and on.....
Until mothers can grieve no more.
Until fathers can hold back their tears no more.
Not until I have given up the hope of living on.
And embrace you in our eternal union.
But if only you could be a little more patient
And if only you knew that one day
We will be yours sincerely.....