Like Dried Petals During The Fall

As kids, we were taught several songs,
Both home and at school.
Most of which, centered around ‘oneness’.
These songs we learned by heart, 
They stuck with us for many years, 
So much, many of us believed in ‘togetherness’.

But as we continued to grow,
The faith we had once held tightly to,
As strong believers of ‘unity’,
started to give way to ‘despair’.
Humanity as we once knew it,
wasn’t exactly as it seemed.
It was a charade,
clothed in fine linen of sweet songs;
Songs of national anthem, school anthem,
the national pledge and other rhymes.

These songs gave us hope,
caused our hearts to race high and leap for joy,
As we sang them with all hearts and might
Little did we know that discord lurked
in the many words said without actions,
In the ‘change’ we only muttered
but never actually gave in to. 
Over the years we realised that
These songs were just mere words;
Words wrapped in soul lifting lyrics, 
But should not be taken to heart.

We children of the soil,
Who had danced to the tunes of
Rhythmic beats that our elders taught us,
Suddenly realised that it was all a facade.
We who had thought
a single tree housed us all as one;
One for each branch, one for every flower,
Now realised that it was all a mirage
That had dazzled so brightly before our naivety.

Slowly, just like dried petals during the fall,
We began to fall off,
rustling with the wind of the unknown, 
As we forget the gigantic tree t
That once was our home.
We became strangers,
each one of us finding new paths into oblivion.

Aanuoluwa Adebanjo