THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS
(To the Nigerian Bar Association)
On this road to Damascus,
Should we rob Peter to pay Paul?
Should we rob Peter to pay Paul?
Should we rob Peter to pay Paul?
By our own calling,
Justice should be our Lord and God,
Not mere mortals or Mammon
Or a double-standard fraternity,
Brewed in the pot of sentiments,
Brewed in the depth of technicalities,
Brewed in the womb of destructive togetherness .
My wig is my oath
My gown is my oath
My calling is my oath
And my oath is my exclusive loyalty—
My only loyalty is to our just God
And a just positivist society,
Not to Saul the King of Israel
Or Paul the Preacher of Gentiles.
I will not toil the road to Damascus
With a blindfold wound around my face!
I will not sail the road to Damascus
And join the bandwagon of sightless seers!
I will not join the road to Damascus
To propagate, navigate and/or cultivate havoc
I will not romance the road to Damascus
Where our union may foster a minion.
On this road to Damascus,
Should we not be weary of dangers
That may boomerang?
Saul the King can tell a tale of blindness
Saul the King can tell a tale of many persecutions
Saul the King can tell a tale of the voiceless whisper
That voiceless whisper that prickles the conscience—
Only the player knows the gospel truth of it,
And he who has not climbed the tree beyond the leaves,
Need not be afraid of a free fall.
By our own calling,
We became ministers in the temple
Of justice
Of fairness
Of rule of law,
Not…
Of selfishness or brotherliness,
Brewed in the womb of occultic unionism.
–-Bolaji Ramos, Esq.
copyrighted