Day 1: Still I Ride

Photo: toppstiles.co.uk

I can’t lie and claim I

Never aimed high only to drop off like a dime.

But yeah still I try; I find it throws some weight off the upward climb.

Still I can’t pretend I don’t squirt a tear off my eye

Every once in a million while.

I don’t act up like my mind ain’t sometimes, a mile wide of the prize.

But I deal with it and shutdown my system to compromise;

And still I ride.

I ain’t sitting around all day long and whine,

I hear voices calling out for me,

I leap on the neck of the wind

And ride out to meet with Divine Company.

Even though prospects’ blown out of sync;

I shall not be moved.

‘Cause I sense an inner connect with my individuality,

I shall have my due.

All my colors shoot through liquid air like balloons.

And every time I close my eyes

I can certainly visualize

And still I ride.

I see destiny as a one-way ticket,

And the days of my life are programmed to self-instruct.

It’s the sole reason I keep sticking out long after my force is spent

And the world keeps screaming for me to flip the record.

If I had no choice left, I’ma still be a loaded gun;

If I ran out of options, I’ma pull up my resources and get gone.

I heard “impossible” once too many to recognize it’s unacceptable.

I’m wringing myself free of the excess burden,

Grasping all I can handle and shooting for a whole new level.

The mystery I am cannot be boxed in.

So, for every word I lay on this rhyme

I’ma stay on my grind, reach for the sky,

And still I ride.

The ghosts of childhood wake the dead;

And my wits, all out of joint moan in dread.

My shoulders droop like dead mass of flesh

As useless as seaweed caught in a mesh.

I cry for the morning; scream for respite;

My groaning turn growling; my bark to bite.

I’m howling and deadlier than a slither’n starlight.

No bones about it; ain’t quitting this fight.

The game’s about to change,

The caged bird escaped the cage.

I’ma ride all over competition

Until their very breath ignites in spontaneous combustion.

My sweat’s my trophy,

My pain’s my gain.

I take a step into the unknown if I trip

Something’s gonna take hold of me.

I’m dope on hope and I’m high

And still I ride.

I’m walking on sunshine

Hidden from all harm in plain sight.

I set my goal in focus don’t even try to hide.

There’s fire in my drive.

A high-octane version of adrenalin.

Like inspiration busting through the realm of dreams

Shattering walls between imagination and reality,

Promising the second wind of inevitability.

I found a reason to press forward,

I picked up courage to be strong,

To not cut and run in face of defeat,

To not back away from jeopardy.

I ride

Though outcome’s aligned contrariwise;

I ride

If the denouement pigeonholes into suicide;

I ride

And my conviction is bona fide;

I ride

So if I let go it won’t die.

Through inhumane cold and blistering heat

I levitate like vapor off a seething liquid.

It’s an addiction that’s caught on like a fever,

It’s like I’m rolling on spinners.

Still I can’t lie and fantasize

Everything’s alright but I survive

And still I ride.

Akpan