“The fly of your trouser is open Mr. Engineer,”
so whispers the street boy just before
the engineer enters to be interviewed for
the job of his fancy.
He can’t hide how grateful he is to the boy
for the heads up.
He needed that kind of help;
Don’t we all?
“We need a mechanic urgently Bishop,”
so says her driver after their vehicle stalls
in the middle of an isolated road.
Bishop sighs with relief and thanks God
when, hours later, a motorcycle rider appears,
and declares that he is a mechanic.
She needed that kind of help;
Don’t we all?
Mr. Politician’s pants have just split
right down the middle at the back as he
hyped the crowd to a dance.
He can’t hide his happiness
when a tailor appears where he ran for privacy
and quickly mends the trousers.
He needed that kind of help;
Don’t we all?
“Your skirt is tucked into your pants,”
the floor cleaner tells Madam Professor,
just before she enters to deliver her lecture.
Madam embarrassingly straightens the skirt
but her face reveals her joy
for the timely, face-saving intervention.
She needed that kind of help;
Don’t we all?
“Please take my child Madam Principle,”
so pleads a parent seeking admission
for his child to Secondary School.
His baited breathe turns into a sigh of relief
when madam Principal says ‘yes’.
The parent is a doctor, soldier, farmer, plumber.
They needed that kind of help;
Don’t we all?
We need each other regardless of our hustles.
We cannot, and aren’t meant to do it alone.
We were born to shine with our talents
for the benefit of the other person; and so,
respect everyone for who they are.
Lend a helping hand where you can.
We need each other’s kind of help;
Don’t we all?