I want to start all over again,
I hope by then many things I had previously missed out to gain.
Be patient and so remain,
I, too am in pain,
Picking up life wasted in vain.
Above all, don’t you dare stand on my way,
And the only valuable things I thus far have take away.
Oh Lord, I take no umbrage,
You have been so kind a lot,
Were would I be without a good fettle I have got.
It is only humans,
With whom I am at odds –
They have let me down to rot.
Once more, give me a liveable life of a child,
And I promise I will not allow it to chilled,
And the dreams remained unfulfilled.
Give me a bit more of what I have,
A little longer life than humans,
A life of an Oak tree,
So as not to worry,
Keeping a diary
Of the short and devoid personal history entry.
It shall not be impossible in your providence,
Nor one long life will upset the balance.
Yes, give me the life of a liveable child,
Free, at last free.
And I shall be an oak tree,
Those who needed shelter,
Upon my words, I shall provide sanctuary.
Let me, thus, start all over again
And leave the mess, that I am, behind;
For far too long, that has kept my life confined.
Ó Haileselassie Girmay
31/8/2001