Fire and Ice

I was born on a Thursday with my thumb dipped in ink, bolt of poems are patched on my life’s pages with a golden pen God has made of me. On each of my life’s page, beautiful Salem of words that numb the world of its pains is carved. I have become a word budding fruit, blossoming with treasure and gleesome memories, words of fine tapestry to free shame’s sea.  I write to find my artistic flow and to tell my story of Ice and Fire. I do not just with broad strokes knit words but with careful narrow details to share valuable stories my two-scores and eight has taught me. 

    Indulge my most recent story, on 28^th October, yesterday I mean, a day just to when I celebrate my birthday, thieves broke into my house, stole my phone and tablet, about my only possession, items I had become pretty dependent on. I’m still figuring out if this experience was one of ice or fire particularly since it’s left me spending my birthday with virtually no calls because I’m yet to buy a new phone. Fire and Ice is a popular phraseology associated with Robert Frost in his most popular poem. I however do not use it in the context as he uses it, but I write of it as how the strongest of swords are forged, through ice and fire. The strength of the sword on which the mightiest warrior depend on is one for which the test of fire and ice did not break. The colder and hotter the contrasting elements of fire and ice, the stronger the sword. I am a grandson of of a blacksmith, speaking boldly of my strength as I am forged by the lessons of ice and fire: 

1. I’ve learnt how to be rich from poverty. I come from a humble home as the poor always want to put it. Of course my faith allows me to say God has being good, but that is the kind of goodness for which we barely survived from hand to mouth. I have out of such great need learnt to prioritize time and to push the most effectiveness out of it. Need for survival forges strength in greatness. 
2. I’ve learnt confidence from labelling. My birthday poem today was called, No Labels. I have always being the one picked on from nursery school because I was almost always the youngest and smallest. I have being given the worst of names from primary school, through high school, survived terrible rejection because I do not flow with everybody and particularly since my brain is the best proxy to finding me. I get even more now, the terms of weirdo, nerd, strange, from colleagues. This is an experience that can break the strongest of souls. I will tell you, the best strength I find sometimes is in tears. The longest poem I have ever written is called, The Crying man, a poem I wrote weeping terribly when I was still in third year at the university. The experience has taught me to look at people’s categorization of me with humour and pity for their narrow-mindedness. I have learnt confidence in spite of all the things that stood in my way. 
3. I have learnt love from loneliness. I learnt to call it solitude, although I found my ink to write from such solitude, found the depth of my mind and strength of will in my spirit from being alone it was never without the fangs and taunting icy grin. I learnt the first thing to love, to love yourself. I also learnt to love people not because they were good or bad, but because of our common humanity. I learnt respect and kindness because of my own lack of it. 
4. I learnt compassion from pain. I have known pain. My tears have not being for me alone however, it has being a guide from which I draw to bathe others, those who are in need of healing from stone of tears. I have a very tender heart and rightly so because life has broken all meanness, my experience in life has taught me compassion to our common humanity. I have glow that soothe like balm, a gift I received from pain himself. 
5. I have learnt patience from endurance. Forbearance is a gift that yields great results. If anything were true about life, I will reckon that life is a marathon. Execution requires all the tact you can gather from careful planning and detailed craftsmanship. You do not learn patience as a boisterous youth; you do that through the calm corners of endurance. Hunting is a great art- you must learn the art of speed but most importantly, the skill to wait for the calm to strike. I can go a little longer than the average, sacrifice yet a little more, be prepared to risk yet a little more and to be a bit more courageous. That I have found through learning patiently every single minute. 
6. I have learnt leadership from service. I have learnt to do the things nobody wants to do. I learnt to build service hours which only gave me credibility; credibility forged a reputation for excellence and consequently I build dominion. I am a prevailing alpha but one entirely by serving. 
7.  I learnt courage from Adventure. Yes I am afraid sometimes to, even to write or to talk, the two things at least I love to do but I get doing them anyway. I am always trying new things, I have experimented with writing, talking, trumbo, trumpet, guitar, organ, photography, law, science, business, risk management, hiking, driving, acting and recently singing, etc. I have failed in quiet a number of them but have succeeded extremely in others too. I intend to sum up my life in one word, possibility! But the only way I get to show all is possible is by trying all. I will always keep trying new stuff always having the youthful enthusiasm to learn something new. 
8. I have learnt purpose through passion. I have been driven to where I must be only by following what I am passionate of. Sometime mere circumstance have being the reason I found I could do things, but that was a long time ago, I push consciously and with passion, a day at a time. 
9. Life begun with faith. I was still not sure about my life until that accident on 5^th June, 2006. I found faith from which I pursue a legacy bigger than anybody but God can offer. 
10. I have learnt opportunity from preparation. How often we all want luck. I remember growing up, the day I do not get to school early, there will be a punishment for late-comers. Luck is not my good friend, although grace, mercy and favour are. I heard of story of planting the field before asking for rains. Opportunity for me has being created through usually the brow of sweet. God grants me grace to create opportunities one at a time for indeed horses are prepared for battle but victory is of the Lord. Horse must be prepared my friends!

In conclusion, I write this to end a project I started exactly 2,555 days ago. It was on a Thursday just like this seven year ago when I committed to letting go everything to pursue the strength of my mind, depth of my spirit and the independence of my soul. God has formed a persona in me I am so proud of, I can only look forward to the future with hope, I did not write all about me for the words sake, but to let you for a young man from Agogo who grew most in Duayaw Nkwanta, God indeed is no respecter of persons. I look forward the next 2,555 days with a global impact. Watch this space…