DIDACTIC: "THE GIVE AND TAKE OF MASTURBATION" BY MUHAMMAD MERCURIAL

GBAM!

Door closed.

Shiiiiiiion!

Window closed.

The hand becomes the most useful and wonderful part of the body as it finds its way to the underpath of the tunnel.

It keeps digging...

Keeps striking...

Until the little liquid finds its way out of the tunnel.

Then...

The epitome of pleasure ends.

You wake up with foggy brains...

Unclear sight...

And little stamina.

The previous two conversations you had with the CEO yesterday go blank...

As though you had never met her.

The brain becomes dormant.

The things you once did that turned heads suddenly become impossible.

The same liquid that gave birth to your employer...

Is the same liquid you are letting out...

Anyhow.

Anywhere.

How many future governors are having meetings inside tissue papers?

How many presidents of nations are holding Senate meetings inside the W.C.?

How many future leaders of men are having party time inside nylon bags?

Tell me...

How many people are suffering today because the one who was meant to become their helper was sent back before forming?

What would have happened if the breadwinner of your family had been wasted before becoming who they are?

What would have happened if Nelson Mandela had been wasted before he could form?

What would have happened if Albert Einstein had been wasted before he could form?

Messi...

Ronaldo...

Dangote...

Davido...

And the likes...

You...

Me...

The next president...

The next governor...

The next inventor...

The next history maker...

The next destiny changer...

Even though the reality of now...

Has made many too blind...

To see the future inside us...

We all...

Were once...

That same liquid...

Before becoming human.

A few minutes of pleasure...

To trade the future of fruits you cannot predict.

Tell me...

Does it really worth it?

Regardless of what medical practitioners call it...

I am proud to say I have a healthy battle with my partner.

But shame wraps you in Aṣọ-Ẹbí...

Shutting you up...

Unable to say,

"I dug and struck my own tunnel."

Irrespective...

I loved digging by myself...

Until I dug the tunnel...

To where I saw red wine...

Drop...

In place of the white liquid.

It cost me nothing...

Until I kept digging...

Until I became abandoned...

Because my brain power had been shut down.

It was the easiest...

And the best feeling...

Until I became weak...

Fatigued...

Like an infected parasite.

It was so sweet...

Until I became someone...

Who could no longer father a fruit into the world...

Or even stand on my own.

This...

Is the future...

A few minutes of pleasure...

Blessed me with.

Akande and friends came to visit...

But I couldn't go with them...

Because my family...

Had been left inside tissues...

Bathrooms...

Forests...

And so many other places.

All...

Gone.

And I ask myself again...

Does it really worth...

Trading my future...

For a few minutes of pleasure?

Or...

Am I sacrificing tomorrow...

For what disappears today?

© Muhammad Mercurial

- Nigeria 

"The Give and Take of Masturbation" is a didactic poem that warns against masturbation by portraying it as a habit with serious physical, mental, emotional, and moral consequences. Through vivid imagery and rhetorical questions, the poet argues that the brief pleasure gained from the act is not worth the long-term effects he believes it brings. He reflects on a personal struggle with the habit, expressing regret over how it allegedly weakened him, reduced his mental sharpness, and left him feeling abandoned and ashamed.

The poet also uses imaginative comparisons, describing sperm cells as potential future leaders, inventors, and history makers, to emphasize the value he places on human life and the importance of self-control. By the end of the poem, he urges readers to reflect on whether sacrificing their future for temporary pleasure is truly worthwhile. Overall, the poem serves as a moral warning that encourages discipline, responsibility, and careful consideration of one's actions.