Notes On Life Poem by Shadrach Shehu

I look
to see what filth lurks beneath the white fabric shielding the ugliness and
fierce stare of the mystery called
life
from betrayed fairytales-expecting eyes
I peep
to see life for what it truly is

I look
to see what the old people see while sitting
that the youth cannot see
even after climbing the tallest tree

I look
with closed eyes
to find what I've lost in the dark

I look
hoping to behold
me
without furrows on my face
drawn in memory of the hurts I've swallowed
many of which were flushed down by my midnight tears
while some got frozen
in my lungs

I look
but I see nothing
I find
nothing
except what is