Ain't No Christmas For A Refugee

Courtesy: UNHCR

Ain't no Christmas for a refugee,

People would sooner pee on his effigy;

Ain't no chicken in any pot,

Ain't no sunshine in his dawn.

Ain't no Christmas for a refugee,

He'll always be the same OG

Who menfolk regard as an apology,

And the womenfolk await her elegy.

Ain't no Christmas for a refugee,

Ain't no record of their pedigree.

Ain't nobody gifts 'em nationality,

But they y'all denied their humanity.

Ain't no Christmas for a refugee;

Ain't nobody prepare 'em confetti,

Not even a slice of roasted turkey

Or leftover peanut butter sandwich.

But a refugee need

A certain measure of heat,

Something to keep 'em warm at nights;

Cause refugee rights are human rights.

Akpan

I Wish You

Courtesy: merrychristmas.quotems.com

I wish you joy that comes with the season,

I wish you goodness that fills your reminisces,

I wish you smiles that light the candles bright,

I wish you strength that comes from the Christ-Child,

I wish you beauty, grace that lasts the year long,

I wish you the vigor of youth your whole life long,

I wish you hope that never dies but multiplies,

I wish you the small things that stir the flame in your eyes.

I wish you a home full of Christmases,

I wish you love that came down from excelsis,

I wish you tools so foolproof you’ll have ecstasies,

I wish you surplus of the bare necessities,

I wish you simplicity first witnessed in a manger,

I wish you the blessings that addeth no sorrow,

I wish you peace that truss the silence of the stars,

I wish you above all, forever hands to hold.

Akpan

Our Childhood Used to Know

quotesideas.com

Our childhood used to know

A fountain that gushed like the flow

Of a mighty rushing wind and stole

Thro the streets of our town, hauling the cold

In its wake yet, insulating us with a coat

Of love’s warmth squeezing a song from stone.

Our childhood used to know

A tale divine of a time long ago,

When a child wrapped in swaddling clothes

Slept on the hay for there was no place to go.

How blinding halos His coming to shepherds told,

And of wise men visiting the new-born with gifts bold.

Our childhood used to know

Of Christmas carols, sung till lungs did explode

While white-faced kids dared the harmattan to blow

And some other kids danced and raced in the snow.

But our happiest memories turn to Mama’s sweet bowl

Of wholesome heaps of rice, chicken and stew overflow.

When at the table we gathered and let the show

Commence and in that Christmas feast love was known.

Akpan

Silent Stars

christmasgator.com

Silent stars,

Witnesses to the miracle in the manger.

How I wonder what you are.

There remains an unmatched brilliance

In your spark every night you shine surreal,

I have this feeling that’s a testimonial

I sense ancient eyes crawl all over me

Like a million insects, eyes that did see

The coming of the Christ-Child and testified

To wise men from a faraway land summoning

Keepers of sheep who in the field did abide.

Silent stars,

Your message still rings true in the dark.

The ever shining light will guide us,

Like the everlasting father he’ll shield us,

And find us again when we wander lost.

Akpan

The Caged Bird Still Sings

Courtesy: ifitshipitshere.com

Just in case you ever wondered why

This ball of water yet rotates on its axis

In times like these and men still wear a smile

Tho throttled on the throat by the claws of adversity,

There is a song that spins a web of strength.

Connecting all of God’s creation refueling the spent;

A lilting miracle that nudges exanimate rocks to breathe:

Does it come as a surprise the caged bird still sings?

Akpan

From a Cell 8

The 8-foot cell that was Mandela's home on Robben Island.

One man

(And he was no ordinary man)

Had a vision and moved the motion to take a stand

The self-named lords tagged him bad gone mad

And shipped the hell-raiser off to rot on an isolated island.

But his was a story that couldn’t be caged behind metal bars.

One man

(I said he wasn't no ordinary man)

Opened his mouth to speak and his voice rose beyond his cell bars

And the nuance of his message held steady thro out every land;

A song of infinite hope that screamed the line, if you believe you can.

The man died but the memories of him live in the legacy of his plan.

One man

(You know, he was no ordinary man)

Learned that courage ain't in the strength of your arms

But triumph over the stuff that cripples your very heart.

The life he led drove the highpoints home like nail piercing plank,

His words reassure us like stars guiding travelers in the dark.

Akpan

Lethal Verbs

Don't ever let nothin' hold you back.

I can’t be broken

Not by a speck of struggle.

That's what I call this entire token.

I am the majesty of the rubble.

Even though I came up hard,

Through practice I learned nothing

Is ever too hard

To subdue. 'Specially to him

Who's got somethin' up his sleeves.

No matter how a friend deceives

I'm gonna pick up the pieces,

Count my losses

Beat the dust off my butt

Then aim right back for the top.

Nuthin will ever take me apart

Cause I'm a man weaned from the heart.

I'm stuck on my dreams

Like a dot of stain

On bleached white sheet.

I'm as persistent as a toothache

And you can bet, I won't bend to the heat.

Akpan

Christmas in Sambisa

A Christmas tribute to the Nigerian Armed Forces
for their unrelenting war on terrorism

I always had a hunch you was the prototype hero.

Now that I found the unique moment to express that fact

I'm gon' ride on the track and leave none in the dark from the intro

When the tribute engage their ears n' slide down their heart.

I really wanna invest the time to take you apart

And sink my teeth into the details until I feel the heat

Of the battle waging down on the inside as you rip open the enemy

And snatch victory like a trophy from the talons of the beasts.

Bae misses her man; the kids need their dad yet this Xmas

You'll lay down on a bed of grass; rest your head on a pillow of stone

N' if you're lucky sleep will find you cuddling a people's burden in your arms.

Yet no one deserves a better Xmas than the men who went and brought us hope.

You're the one my heart bleeds for it's of you I sing

And I will fear no evil walking thro the forest of Sambisa

Cause the shadow of a soldier supplies all the solace I seek

So let me take this time and shoot you a very merry Christmas.

Akpan

Otherside

Photo Courtesy: UNHCR (@Refugees)
For Syrian Refugees

Will I make it to the otherside?

Beyond this grave of dreams;

That special place where the imagination

Explodes in daylight?

My soul barely exists

Waiting thirstily for the delights

Of fulfillment in a world

Where patience is defeated.

It's hard not to kick against the goads

Cause the times is ill fated.

The quest for glory

Drains me and fills me with rage,

The road to immortality is paved

With hate-induced goals.

Yet mortal men thrust into it blinded

Multiplying well-avoidable throes.

But will I ever fill that space

And appropriately

Obtain the good grace

To equip the man of my dreams

With a tool to win in this spiteful race?

Akpan

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• 4 charts that will change how you think about Syrian refugees
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Mother Like

A mother like no mother,

She takes it all in her stride.

She just keeps growing stronger.

She’s so fine and she’s my pride.

She’ll cut her hands on broken glass,

If just to shield me from the shards,

Protect me from snakes in the grass,

That’s why I’m her number one fan.

Mama got the heart of a lion;

She’ll stand tall thro the worst drama.

She’s my firm support and pinion.

She’s my hero and I love her.

Akpan

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The Way Christmas Is

How come we always find each other?

Is there a magic in December?

And what’s this feeling I feel inside?

I can tell you feel the same thro your eyes.

That’s just the way Christmas is.

You can’t explain it and I won’t pretend.

I guess it’s just the way the season is

Christmas is magic; it’s all we comprehend.

How come there’s a vibe when we connect?

Like something kicks in genuine and perfect

Is it that nameless emotion fired up?

Making words unnecessary and syncing thoughts?

How come I have you in my radar?

Yet we ain’t met, ain’t e’en together?

I don’t fight it and you’re yielded too.

Time taught us to flow with the attitude.

Akpan

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We Call It Christmas

We call it Christmas,

Cause only love can love this much.

The whole world is just the two of us,

So let there be love as there’s Christmas.

And I know this much is true,

There is no me without a you.

May I be your fantasy for one minute?

Stand up on my shoulders preview a universe rid of limits.

Come, I can show you where love came down;

Where you can walk on water like on solid ground.

Love has narrated an amazing story

Of compassion’s throes and you are in it.

If you’ll take my hand we’ll erase the night

When two hearts touch the skies and the clouds ignite.

If you’re lost ‘tis the season to be found,

So be bold to hope for the hour is now.

Reach out weak hands in courage and exhale.

Love’s behind you step out, make this your day.

Akpan

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The Reason is Right

To give a gift that keeps on giving,

I make a move to keep my pen bleeding.

Until words slide off the page right thro the brain,

As your feelings bind and turn pain into gain.

And the season is ripe.

And the reason is right

To attack you with love this one mo’ time,

And drown your fears in joys of yuletide.

To translate a scene from my heart to paper,

I grope for words that’d flow much deeper.

That long after the paragraph is read,

The vibes will keep your feet sure on the ledge.

Akpan

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