Once upon a time, I always complained
About all the reasons for lagging behind
Laying all the pain at the foothills of excuses
Such as doubts, others and destiny
Searching everywhere except the image in the mirror.

Always in thoughts and often depressed
I opined that the reasons were beyond my reach
Confidence slowly ebbed away and despondency set in
I starred a lot, wondered often, but never attained

Giving into all the naysayers
I simply threw in the towel
The sky always looked dark
My talents were kept out of sight

I reflected on the passage of time
Failing to realize the fault was mostly mine
Throwing away seeds and talents, dreams and plans
I looked the other way in search of the prize
The seeds, talents, dreams and plans
Were the nuggets of the prizes I sought all along

Then one faithful day I asked why?
It struck me that I never tried to harness the wind
The opportunities lay bare and often overlooked
Relationships I never bothered to nurture
Where do I go from here and what do I do?

I will leverage my strength and vision
Throwing away the blame and blooming instead
I wake up my inalienable talents
The passions within me begin to boil
I channel the energy toward my objective

I reminisce about the journey of the seed
Thrown into a hole and often forgotten
Covered up with earth, worms and the warmth of the sun
It dies and then it slowly blooms
Like the force of Nature, it emerges after birthing pains and celebrate life.

In time, it blooms with vibrant colors
Lovely flowers and deeper roots
Beautifying the landscape with the splash of life
Turning a dying moment into a living moment.

The time for excuses are over
I choose to step out of my shell
Moving slowly toward the Tunnel of lights
Following the path laid toward my vision
No matter how long or the failed attempts
I do it over and over again

I fortify myself with a winning team
I search for the best and leave the rest
We strive toward a common goal
Settling for nothing except Success
Arise, dust away the failures and bloom.

© 2011. Muyiwa Babalola.