Shaver
Your sharp razor cut
The skin closing the skull
Showers of blood
Building a lake
That young may swim and drowned
I swam
I drowned
In this river built by father’s sweat
Now a slave to suffering
A friend to hardship
Darkness casts
Emitting the fog of sadness
Which like debress
Sleep on the bed of my heart
The gods of vengeance
Lighted this candle
The pot is boiling
Heated like a melting iron
That I am one
Ready for war
To avenge this wound
That a shaver cut
Beyond the heir.
Umar Alkali (Riyala)
EDITOR’S NOTE
Originally published in Citizen on 23 May 1994, p. 37. This diplomatic transcription preserves the wording and lineation visible in the archived page.