Benard Makaa

All the people I used to know appear in photographs these days.

“There is no God!”

Life Does Not Rise in a Straight Line An electrical engineer learns early that systems are not always governed by steady-state conditions.

A door may need a steady push, Not fury, noise, or wounded pride; The strongest hand can still be measured, Firm in aim and calm in stride.

Do not email courage from your chair While others work outside in rain; The boots you never choose to wear Make every stirring speech seem vain.

The finest software cannot save A worker ignorant of the craft; It only makes the error swift And prints it neatly in a draft.

A group chat is not yet a team, Though every member joins the thread; A crowd may share one digital room And pull toward separate ends instead.

The foolish seller praises goods Until the buyer longs to flee; The wiser asks what pain exists And what the better state might be.

A spreadsheet tells what must be done, But seldom makes the spirit rise; No numbered cell can fully paint The better world behind our eyes.

A battery may show full charge And still lie idle on the shelf; Stored power gains no worthy name Until it spends itself.

Ten motors pulling different ways Will drain the grid and move no train; Their noise may shake the factory floor, Yet all their force is spent in vain.

No title downloaded overnight Can teach a person how to lead; A badge may purchase outward rank, But cannot manufacture heed.