THE ODYSSEY
BY JOHN ODEY ADUMA
“…multiply, and replenish the earth….,” Genesis 1:28.
Just caught COVID or recovering from one,
Having lung COVID or not,
Still in tears or they are just drying up
After the loss of a dead relative,
Generally bereaved or not,
Suffering from COVID or other ailments,
Diagnosis postponed or just carried out,
Under the knife or above it,
New birth or death,
Mourning or rejoicing
We ‘ll get there!
COVID-19 or in a sound mind and a sound body,
Pinged or not,
Self-isolated or not,
In the ICU or not,
Forced to stay away from loving relations or not,
Whether you were able to get
the final word from your dying relatives or bid them
a final goodbye or goodnight or not,
Just buried your dead relative/s
or keeping vigil praying for their recuperation or not,
Do rest assured we will get there.
Surrounded by loved ones or lonely,
Looked after or abandoned,
Married or single,
Having your marriage deferred,
many times over or just wedded,
Holidays postponed or not,
On furlough or not,
Working from home or in the office,
Frontline worker or not,
Critical worker or not,
We ‘ll get there.
Come rain or shine,
Storm or calm weather,
Thunder or lighting,
Ozone layer depletion, ultraviolet radiation
or extreme heatwaves accelerating
global warming at a geometrical rate,
Domestic or wildfires,
Spring or Summer,
Autumn or Winter
Cold or warm,
Wet or dry,
Mild or extreme,
Natural or unnatural,
Spiritual or not,
Scientific or not,
Climate change or no,
Whether experiencing the effects of monsoon rains –
flash, severe, and devastating flooding or not,
Desertification or avalanche of sandstorms/dunes
and excessive winds, droughts, or famine,
Crop failure due to inclement weather or great harvests,
Afforestation or deforestation,
Conservation or unparalleled
exploitation of the ecosystems;
Desiccation of the river systems or
deleterious effects of the mega dams on the environment,
carbon footprint (GHG) or Co2 or permafrost thawing
or the melting of ice in the Arctic,
or the submergence of low-lying coastland communities,
or the receding of the underground aquifers,
nations sitting on hydrological edge,
Global warming or fast-melting ice caps,
or the current threats to the global coral reefs,
and other marine lives, wild flora, and fauna
bush fires or the depletion of the ozone layers
or the emission of carbon mono-oxide
or environmental pollution or nuclear waste,
And no matter how wide the spread of other plagues and pestilences,
Great or small,
Eventful or not
Spectacular or not,
Significant or not,
Colourful or not,
Bitter or sweet,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Fortunate or unfortunate,
Lucky or unlucky
Present or past,
We ‘ll get there.
In fierce competition for waters?
Let common sense prevail.
But does this universal gift to mankind
Have to be damned to cut off many from using it,
And refusing to release water to downstream dwellers?
O selfishness! O greed! O gross inconsideration!
O lack of love! O lack of universal altruism!
War! War! War imminent!
Let this then be the price for this folly!
Cheated in life or not,
Faithful or unfaithful,
Defrauded or not,
Strong or weak,
Fearless or fearful,
Weary or strong,
Above or beneath,
Head or the tail,
In peace or at war,
Inside a bottomless pit,
or on top of the mountain,
Hills and in the valley,
We ‘ll get there.
Moving fast or slowly in life,
Waiting or moving on,
Making headway in life or not,
Life controlled by algorithm or not,
Self-made or inherited wealth,
Whether of working-class background
or middle or upper class,
Whether raised in Council flats or in palaces,
Homeless or housed,
Tenant or homeowner,
Living in a home share arrangement or a
rough sleeper,
We ‘ll get there.
And no matter how difficult and hard the journey is,
No matter how long the distance,
No matter how rough the road, seas, and oceans,
No matter the undulating topography,
No matter how crater-laden the road is,
And whatever be the number of
the potholes on the road,
Walking, running, or flying,
We ‘ll get there.
The roars of the lions yet cannot stop us,
And no matter the obstacles,
No matter the barriers,
No matter how thick and high the wall,
No matter how high the mountains and the hills,
And no matter how deep the valley,
No matter the hedges and the thorny shrubs,
And spikes along the way in this our life-long odyssey,
Be rest assured, we ‘ll get there.
No matter the threats of the innumerable beasts
on the way and in the jungle,
The roaring of the lions;
The very intimidating sight of giants and ogres along the way;
The chirpings of strange birds;
The grunting of the bush pigs;
The howling of the hyenas,
The clanging sounds of the rattle snakes;
The strange sight of the pythons lying across our way,
We ‘ll sure get there
As we shall always be undeterred
and undisturbed by such beastly sights.
Not even the sight of the leviathans can force a retreat upon us,
Nor that of the huge evil sharks and the whales,
Nor the gathering of many hypos,
Nor the crocs, for we ‘ll get there.
Even if the sun ceases to give its light,
The moon refusing to shine,
And the stars stopping to sparkle,
Nor twinkle nor flicker its little light,
We ‘ll get there by the pillars of cloud by day,
And by pillars of fire by night.
Having a wayward child troubling you,
Or having a well-behaved one giving joy,
Children in school or out of school,
Children playing or can’t play because of the lockdown,
Children obese or healthy,
Just going to prison or set free,
Just about managing or earning living wages,
Low paid or well paid.
Pay rise or wage stagnation,
Bonus or not,
Clapped for, serving God and fatherland or not,
Nominated and recognised for service to country or not,
Poor or rich,
In debt or debt free,
Business just wound up or doing well,
Booming or into administration,
and subsequent liquidation or not,
Boom or doom,
Life thoroughly messed up or going well,
Life controlled by algorithm or not,
Famine or hunger or plenty,
In plenty or lack,
We ‘ll get there.
Sleeping or awake,
Light or darkness,
Our present here and future –
bright and beautiful,
or hopeless and ugly,
Bleak or promising,
Uncertain or unpredictable,
Amid friends or foes,
Loved or hated,
Accepted or rejected,
Cared for or abandoned,
Moody or in high spirit
Happy or sad,
Dejected or convivial,
Optimistic or pessimistic,
Sound health or ill-health,
Sound mind or diseased psyche,
Free or enslaved
Murmuring or contented,
We ‘ll get there!
Win or lose in any of life’s ventures,
We shall move on ‘cos such is life,
As in life, you ‘ll either lose or win and win or lose,
And if you win, how lucky are you!
But if you lose, move on, for tomorrow is another day.
And whether rough or smooth or easy,
Keep moving on without giving up,
And never give in to despair or depression,
or discouragement or to suicidal thoughts,
But keep on until you get to the finished line.
And no matter how hopeless the situation is,
No matter the frustrations of the moment,
We will get there still and not despair or be depressed,
Nor be in low spirit, nor worry, nor be anxious,
nor be fearful or frightful,
As we ain’t going to give in to fears or threats.
And we shall never be lukewarm nor be pessimistic
Nor entertain suicidal thoughts in this odyssey,
Nor turn against one another and afterwards,
war against ourselves and devour one another
Nor slay one another on the way.
But we shall always be in a good mood and keep hope alive,
And keep on keeping on because
it will not be long, and it will not last –
Temporary, temporary, and temporary then;
For I know, this too like the former times, shall come to pass.
This is my unfeigned assurance that of a truth,
And most assuredly that we will get there,
Somehow, sometime, someday.
But we must make the right choices
whilst here in this our earthly home
Entrusted to us to live in, work and preserve,
Respecting one another and other forms of life,
multiplying with common sense
and replenishing continually.
And as the chief stewards of the earth,
examine and review anew our relationship
with the environment as global warming
intractably heads towards a point of no return,
pushing our world close to the hydrological edge.
And now is the time we must all resolve severally
more than ever before, to look after our world,
lest be consumed by the impending Armageddon!
- JOHN ODEY ADUMA.
April, 2021.
*This poem was inspired by Mr Mark Young’s response to my question at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic: “How are you keeping?” on the shop floor of Tesco Express, Hammond Street, EN7 6PJ. And he replying, “We ‘ll get there.”
Dedicated to all humanity during this seemingly endless COVID-19 Pandemic.
John Odey Aduma, British Chevening Scholar, author, and an international environmentalist and publisher, Vigilance – The World’s Leading Security Magazine and Scorpion News Corp – Africa’s Leading News Magazine, is currently a research scholar at the Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies, SOAS, University of London, England, United Kingdom.
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