ON THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE

Ominous silence besieged the once boisterous neighbourhood
As everybody wore gloomy faces depicting sorrowful mood
It‘s no doubt an obnoxious experience mourning over the death of a youth
As the women wailed and children cried, he wandered about feeling so free and void
Looking around closely he could recognize familiar faces shedding tears profusely
A cluster of elders he saw discuss about the tragedy that has befallen them as untimely
As he eavesdropped he learnt a young man had died & the bereaved were his own family
How could that be, as he looked around he saw his parents & all his siblings cry pathetically
Instinctively as he observed he felt he was the only person missing amongst them specifically
While looking around he could see his friends eulogize the large portrait of the young man on display
His feelings were extrinsic; unable to reconcile the fact realizing it was his’ to his uttermost dismay
I’m alive not dead yet why do you all gather to mourn my demise’’ he angrily said in a loud scream
On sighting the prefix late’ before his name written in bold left him stunned and it wasn’t a dream
All along he got more angered on sensing nobody appeared to pay him any kind of attention
Could it be nobody hears him speak or see him walk around the vicinity he questions his imagination
I’m not dead’ he reaffirmed within his soul he’s still alive he feels it’s just a phase of his hallucination
But how come it appears so real coz he couldn’t touch his mother as he tried out to embrace her
Reaching for his father too in a desperate bid to get noticed but none of them felt his touch either
He stood right in front of his siblings but none could see him, it was clear he was a free ghost
As they cursed the grim reaper for taking away from them a loved one when they needed him most
His heart was heavy with pains for all his dreams and aspirations wasted for he was quite ambitious
He struggled all through his life hoping to become successful; to achieve his set goals he was pious
His parents were proud of him for always being supportive & everybody knew he was industrious
No premonition of evil lurking in the dark the ill-fated day he died marked an event so disastrous
The good die young they say’ everybody wondered why it had to be him when he was so full of life
Leaving behind nothing but great unfinished dreams and broken promises with no kids and no wife
The mystic; life is cruel & so unfair to him coz he believed he would live to enjoy after all his strife
But why did he die? He was finding it hard to believe he was gone and his promising life was over
In his state of emptiness he felt vague within but free with all burdens lifted from his shoulders
For the first time he experienced peace of mind free from an evil infested world which was his abode
Where hatred, envy & greed dominated the affairs of men there wasn’t genuine peace & love
He went inside his desolate room he saw his once admired body lay lifeless as he hovered above
The thought of his body been lowered inside the ground to be covered with dirt he couldn’t bear
He wished for a second chance to live just so he could save his family from all the pains & tears
But it was all in vain coz in his book of life sojourn on earth; he inevitably has seen the last page
Gone but remembered for his dogged spirit when the ovation was loud he took a bow from stage
Leaving a vacuum many feel terribly wounded by the colossal loss coz he truly was an illustrious son
A spring of pride to his family, inspiration to his generation immortalized & remembered as an Icon
He watched as he was laid to rest on earth but his own journey on the other side has just begun
His soul became restless coz he didn’t find peace given the circumstances of his cause of death
He’s awareness was broadened to recall all the last moments of his life before he took his last breath
He could remember vividly the scenario and all the faces raining curses and yelling violently at him
Accused of a crime he didn’t commit he tried in vain pleading for leniency without knowing his sin
Everybody that passed by hurled abuses on his innocent soul as the mob had labelled him a thief
As they beat him mercilessly he cried pleading his innocence but none was willing to grant him relief
A victim of jungle justice he was, as they showed him no mercy his trial was inhuman, unfair & brief
Writhing in pains they set fire on his body it engulfed him fiercely while they beat him slowly to die
His life was hacked brutally as he mumbled in agony crying to heavens with blood tears in his eyes
He never ceased proclaiming his innocence as his voice waned he bid this evil world finally goodbye.