POETRY: 20 CHILDREN By: Fareedah Abulkareem

A friend works as a company manager in a big firm 

Another is divorced with three kids

Last night I crossed path with the class wierdo

who now prepares hot chocolate and coffee down street.

A friend is sharing Invitation Cards for a second  marriage,

His friend makes exquisite wedding dresses for celebrities, 

My friend who happens to be my first love is at the General hospital fighting anaemia.

Someone's wife overdosed out of frustration, 

Another tours around in search of pleasures and life's sweetness.

My best friend works with the Ministry of Education but has a child who dropped out to be a Musician. 

The school diva now strikes the hottest pose on Vogue Magazine as the highest paid model.

The nerd who sneezes 21 times a day now owns a renown art gallery.

The tiny frail girl who sits by the class door now looks bloated,

A bulging stomach, the foetus threatens to escape the fortress. 

They say Tina the "Queen Bee" had a leg broken in an accident that claimed her Billionaire parents lives.

The Lovebirds: Dalton and Gold, finally

proved us wrong by starting a working family.

The plump guy now looks 3 times slimmer

booking music concerts and bagging endorsements. 

Nicholas, the bookworm was made a Chief Medical Director few months ago but has a child suffering from down syndrome.

The ever radiant girl that sits right by Ben is still celibate, scared of anymore heartbreaks.

Ben practices under one of the biggest law firms in the world

but has not found a befitting lady to love. 

The girl who had long brown hair lost the battle

to cancer five days ago. So we are to pay a last respect and here we are,

Giving a befitting burial.

I, the scriptwriter now reserve my energy for the rest of the years left

Because I can't track time between the spaces of my mind. 

I'm standing thinking of our past,

What we always imagined life to be and what it is.

But we have come to the realization that people come and people go.

And we have realized too soon that *20 CHILDREN* CAN'T PLAY FOR 20 YEARS.

Oluwashikemi ✍