A SECOND CHANCE?

I

If I’m given another life,

I’ll never choose to be human

Falling in and out of love is tempting

But there is too much sadness and cruelty

II

If I’m given another life

I will never choose to be fish

For there are so many predators in the sea

And few safety caves

III

I will never choose to be an animal in the wild

I watch the chase and I panic

Eat or be eaten is not my style

And can never be

IV

Neither will I choose to be a domestic animal

It is too bad to be a non talking slave

Who can be brutalised or neglected any time

And may live outside human walls

V

I may want to be a tree

Not just any tree, but a celebrated tree

So I will never be butchered

And my pictures will spread

VII

I would want to be the sun

Shinning warmly and gently bright

Using heat to give fright

Like a mother who knows how to mother

Having time to sleep and wake

And knowing all that happens under the sun

Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2014