The archive The Gulp Poem by Ibrahim Sheme · 1990 A light year’s gulp severed usThough our fathomless dream mar-riedWe swam in the unilateral sea ofalonenessBecause the gulp severed us.My tears caked into the islandsof longing, seeking your ismuthand the oars of my resolve trodethe watery bridge.But irate waves warnedme of drowningsome restive tide washedthe […]
The archive Political starter Poem by Jnr. Shalumma Azare · 1992 Theirs blow democracy,Why this defuncracy? Pardon me political dragons,Yours, the transmission of programmes,For good, and free cakes. Well then, political dispensation,Best of all, Nairanisation of the nation,The bankrupt political equation. O, you dogs of power,Mind your whiskers, it’s not Naira power,It’s hitch-free not eat-free […]
The archive The night of power Poem by Ahmad Umar Abdullahi · 1993 Rhapsodies of sweet angelsInundate a most hallowed nightEloquent phrases did, in white cloutsOf burning incense, sang melodiouslyLike the soothing pledges of anIndescriptic beauty to the attentiveListening of a matured, lover, the voicesIn chorus, sang their wonderful carolsIn the blessed night of QadrThe […]
The archive The victims (For the Bosnian muslims) Poem by Mohammed Garba Bawa · 1993 Torture and terrorThey tasteWithout breakMadness and horrorUnlimitedThey witnessOppression and aggressionThey faceWithout respiteSadness and sorrowThey feelWithout endWill and strengthThey possessYet without armsThey’re helplessOur collective conscience being deadAnd our listening ears now deafJust as our watching eyes close againTheir yells for help […]
The archive And I die Poem by S.K.B. Lazarus · 1994 The first cryIs struggleI passed through all stagesToil and sweatAchieved and retiredI look myselfIn mirror full lengthIs this me?I asked.Years tellingGrandfather white headSkin wrinklesI waitedIt cameAnd I die.Funeral rituals doneRemains in shroudFor the cemeteryPut in graveSand toppingMy final homeOther thingsThis point beyondNot known S.K.B. […]
The archive Answer to a complaint Poem by Dambudzo Marechera · 1982 How long should your hollerRedeem the arthritis in the street?Your life’s contract mentions noAssurances about meaning or fulfilment. Indeed our list says you do not existTherefore these despairs about the BombDo not exist. We announce in the next reportHow people like you are […]
The archive From ROA to his daughter, Bisi Poem by ROA · 2001 For He that gives you to meGives me the watch-word which says‘Forever yours I will always be’.From ROA to his daughter, Bisi. ROA EDITOR’S NOTE Originally published in PM News on 01 Mar 2001, p. 7. This diplomatic transcription preserves the wording […]
The archive Cloistered bliss Poem by Suleiman Zailani · 1993 Alone and all aloneI sip the raw lifeTaste its sweet and bitter tangAway, indeed awayFrom deceit of varied simulationsOf misguided souls. I relish the vibrance of a buoyant heartInitiated to mounting exuberance —Part and parcel of the soulThrough my porous and receptive soulOf a lonely […]