Mid-Life Worries... Or False Alarm?
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
I have always been one not to let things pressure me. But these days, the many happenings around me, particularly in light of the economic woes of the country, have made me start worrying so much about the present, and the future...
In shadows cast by doubt, I stand,
Anxieties, they pull my trembling hand..
Yet somehow, someway, I must make this dance,
I must find my way, I must take my chance...
Almost all of my friends from school have found a way to leave the country, Japa, like we call it here. Japa, of course, stems from the Yoruba language, and it roughly translates into "run away". So you see, folks are in a way, literally running away from the mess we now call a country. Sadly, it is the only country we will ever truly be able to call our own.
With every step taken, into the unknown,
I fear to leave behind seeds, long been sown..
It's in this delicate balance, of past and present,
That my worry lies, and my heart's discontent...
What happens if I go? What happens if I stay? I have built a career, or started to build one at the least. If I go, do I let all of that go? Do I pursue a means to earn, whatever that means is? Do I go back to ground zero in a foreign country and hope to rise again and become something? Where exactly lies the happiness and satisfaction that I crave?
Locked in worry's grip, but I won't be swayed,
There is a path to take, the path unmade..
I know the future's uncertain, secrets untold,
Oh but in its mystery, my strength unfolds...
Maybe i would, maybe I wouldn't. One thing I know however, is that for the first time in my life, peer pressure has me in a chokehold.
Since it is a mess everywhere you go back to zero. With some luck you receive help but most likely you will struggle, kwep up appearances and will always miss home. 🍀💕