Man shall not live by bread alone,
But by every Word of the Lord;
For bread may sometimes turn to stone
While succour comes just from the Word.
Bread is only of earthly use –
Though after it some men may lust
And thus with it their soul abuse,
For bread with time must turn to dust.
The Word that from the Lord may come
Abides with us eternally,
And is just what will lead us home
When we depart hence finally.
Heaven and earth will pass away
Along with all the bread in them,
Whereas the Word cannot decay
Since forever more It’s the same.
Bread only serves a transient cause –
To keep as one body and soul –
But should be taken not by us
As what must then our lives control.
We should not then to bread attend
Nor fuss and fight because of it,
For nought’s our gain should we offend
Our fellow men because of meat.
Let us recall our life does not
Consist of merely meat or drink
And that what’s earthly’s not our lot
As they will all decay and stink.
Let’s turn to that which needful is –
The Word that lasts forever more –
So when our life on earth should cease
We then to Paradise may soar.
- Victor Emmanuel Uwah, Poems From Without, 1997
