Who Will Go? Poem by Ebubechi Ireke

I watched him
Stare at the candles
With sadness in his eyes.
A tear slid down his handsome face.

'They once gave me joy, '
He said.
'Their light shone brightly,
And their fire couldn't be put out.'

He looked at me.
'But they seem to wax cold now,
Their light dims with each passing day.'

His eyes shifted from the candles
Back to me.

'Who will go for us?
Should I cast them aside?
Wasn't I enough?
What more do they need? '

I noticed his gaze moved beyond me.
People moved in line,
I saw a space.
Is it mine?

People have always answered the call.
They answer the question:
Who will go for us?

He turned towards me.
'Will you go? '



(2)

'Will I go?
Can I go?
Will they hear me?
They are mighty.
But I...
I'm just a...'

'A child, '
He replied.
'A young one, '
He said.
'You all say the same thing.
But my answer, dear child, is:
I will be with you at all times.'

'Even when mocked? '

'They've all been mocked,
But history still tells great tales of them.
Child, they've been killed, imprisoned, condemned, rejected, insulted.
But as you say,
The end justifies the means.
You want great things, you want to be heard,
But it comes at a price.'

He stretched out his hand, touched my face.
His eyes pierced mine.

'I went, my friends went, men of renown went.
Will you go? '


The question is:
Will you go?
Or will you just move with the line of people?
After all, they are many.
Will you go?
Or will you ignore the call, as many do?
Think on these things.

© Ebube