Life is a choice

Pleasant words bring joy to the soul
To an oppressed heart, it brings peace
To a distressed soul, it brings revival
Life is a perfect choice for happiness and freedom
Freedom enables you to decide who you are in society.
 
Down home, something unbelievable is at work
My heart is sick at the mere remembrance of them
For a nation with its calm, limits and barrenness
a bitter agony of revolt possessed her
Agony and affliction can interrupt your physical and spiritual posterity.
 
It's unbelievable but real even as I bend my head in shame
To live within or to live without is a difficult choice to make
You choose to relate to the people you meet in the house, in the office and the market
so that you will learn from the choice you make and change your environment.
 
Every profession is associated with the choice one makes
The religious made their own choice and it went with a vow
Different congregations with different rules
On their own, they chose to live a monastic life with no association to the outside world
It is a choice they made without being forced.
 
Lo and behold, the world is on a standstill
Everybody is forced to live the monastic life
To the developed countries of the world
and the developing countries as well
"Sit at home", the government ordered.
 
To the people in the developed countries
They provided food, electricity, good network, everything
But my people were forced to stay at home;
they were forced against their will, forced without food and money;
they did obey but for how long?
 
Allow me to make my choice
If I want to be religious, let me go to the monastery but they refused
With cane in their hands, they forced me back to my house
With guns in their hands, they pushed me to an early grave
What is my offence?
 
I am that voice crying in the wilderness
I cry for the defenceless and miserable masses
I stand out because I want to look for food for my children
They forced me to aback and allowed my children and wife to die of hunger
Where do I go from here?
 
There is no light to preserve the little in the house
There is no money to buy the little I see on the street
What is this choice that I must make?
I want the freedom to say no to oppression, to fend for myself and my family, freedom to move when I want to move.
Enough of this bondage.
 
I cry out to those responsible for my freedom
Allow me to go. Let my people go.
I will not allow my heart to become frozen with fear
In my anger, bitterness and despair I remain resolute
My prayers and faith are in God. My life is God's divine choice.
Prisca Onyinye Nwokorie is a  Roman Catholic Nun. She belongs to the religious order of “Oblates of St. Benedict Joseph Labre” in Italy. She is a graduate of the University of Bari where she obtained her Bachelor's and Masters' degrees in “Information and Communication Technologies for the Production of Software” and “Computer Science” respectively. Currently, she is carrying out research work on “E-learning for Developing Countries”.

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