Not Yet Poem by *Tony_Cemalukwuoo* Egbuonu

Children in daredevil escapade,
With untamed spirit, they break away.
Unfettered by rules, they seek their own way,
Unaware of dangers that may come their way.
Little warriors in their kingdom, they sway,
With the courage and strength, they won't delay.
Exploring the depth of their wild display,
They find beauty and freedom that will never fray.

Yesterday there was one, tomorrow there will be another, Today it is the tree climbing competition,
For the climber of the highest peak,
Using an Olympic-sized tall mango tree.

As if obsessed with breaking any Guinness record,
Up, higher up the tree they went, Scampering to beat each other and reach the topmost top,
Until they all reached the safest spot, where only the daring could proceed.
Possessed by the demon of victory,
And bound by the bond that they share
As they frolic in the fields and play
He stood to grab the unsafe topmost branch,
Negotiating for the winning climb of all,
With a daring leap onto the whispering branch
In pursuit of sunset's golden gleam
When the inevitable chose to happen.

Holding the unsafe branch as a parachute,
He parachuted down and down to the ground, unsafe.
To closed eyes, an enticing road appeared,
Adorned on both sides with a golden garden,
Perhaps leading to a harped paradise.
Undeterred by the staccato weeping,
And the heart-rending wailing, of concerned friends and fans,
He ran up and off with leopard agility,
To the beckoning of the promising paradise-like road. Running and running and running, he ran
To a gate resembling a throne and stopped,
A stern and shriveled female timekeeper,
Pointed to a timepiece above, Reading not one through twelve, but 'not yet o'clock'.

As he turned, and saw disciples of Florence Nightingale, Attending to the uncrowned highest peak climber,
On a bed of white sheets and tubes.
For in this game of dare, the ultimate prize is not clear victory,
But the chance to live another day to dare;
Chasing the sun's sinking rays;
Quenching the taste for joy and cheers,
And finding thrones where imagination transforms, in the make-believe worlds.