INSPIRATIONAL: "YES, I CAN SIR" BY GODSON OSARENREN

And empty beds,

Keep adding in tens,

For all are tensed.

Silent islands

Keeping silence 

With no greedy fly following.

For the men in white

Grow longer

As the answers disappear.

Hairs keep falling onto my pillow,

Like tiny flags of surrender from a war.

Nothing compares the pains.

Nothing measures the weakness.

Nothing compares these lonely moments.

A thief,

That knocks hard.

That diverts the lanes of memory.

That counts the bones until it reads 206.

Wait.

Endure.

Be strong.

Every dawn carries a word.

But somewhere around,

The soul-taker waits,

Patiently,

Like a vulture.

Waiting for the moment

When my courage decays.

But from this bed,

Not leaving it empty, 

Will I rise.

I will speak louder.

I must fight this and win

Yes, "I CAN SIR.”

(Dedicated to Gracianno Enwerem)

©GODSON OSARENREN 

- Nigeria.

The poem presents the painful experience of a person battling a severe illness while confined to a hospital bed. The speaker describes an atmosphere of emptiness, silence, weakness, and uncertainty, surrounded by “men in white” as medical answers seem increasingly difficult to find. The falling hair, empty beds, and reference to the 206 bones of the human body create vivid images of physical deterioration and vulnerability. Through these images, the poet communicates the loneliness and helplessness that accompany prolonged illness.

However, beneath the suffering is a determined spirit that refuses to surrender. The speaker personifies death as a patient “soul-taker” waiting like a vulture for his courage to collapse, creating a powerful confrontation between mortality and human resilience. Although pain and fear are present, the speaker chooses to “wait,” “endure,” and “be strong,” believing that every new dawn carries hope.

Ultimately, the poem is a powerful declaration of courage, survival, and faith in the face of illness. The repeated assertion, “Yes, I ‘CAN SIR,’” becomes a symbolic battle cry, showing the speaker’s determination to rise from the hospital bed rather than leave it empty. The poem therefore celebrates the strength of the human spirit and its refusal to be defeated by pain, sickness, or the threat of death.