Poetry

September 7, 2016 Poetry , POETRY / FICTION

Russ Gillespie

 

By

Aina Oluwasegun Yakub

 

 

Lone Survivor

 

 

In high tune did silence blurt

Amidst the irenic dark clouds

When the stars did gleam joy

When the moon did smile bright

When all doors were already locked, and

All eyes already shut

Softly, the sky grinned

Gently, the earth gagged

But within winks

Silence turned sour

Terror screamed wild

Was it a tornado?

A hurricane?

A typhoon or an earthquake?

Was it a tsunami?

A twister or a cyclone?

No one knew

No one could tell

No one saw it coming

 

Huge, was the bam

Enormous, was the blast

Fierce, was the storm

Nowhere to run

Nowhere to hide

It’s all roadless

It’s all ugly

The roofs were gone

The walls had crumbled

The fields had crinkled

Mothers call on to children

Children call on to fathers

Father call on to wives

Wives call on to husbands

But: no one rejoined

No one reposted

All were silent

All were lost

All were axed, except

The vile voice of terror

The bile flames of destruction, and

The rile smell of annihilation

Annihilation, drawn from nowhere to everywhere

Sweeping fort like endless ages of grieving

 

It was colossal wreckage

A meld of rhymeless rhymes, that

Wricks and kinks through artless hearts, plowing

Away lustrous realities for grievous dreams

A cheerful night suddenly becomes a soulless dungeon

 

But at the tail of it all

When terror had rested its wit

When the stars and the moon were far beyond sight, with the clouds

Now wearing a shining garment of novelty

Then, he surfaced out from a deck he knows not

A Fauntleroy in soiled clothing

Looking as ugly as a toad

Wracked and starked, as if

He breathe not air

Was it miracle?

Was it luck?

Was it providence?

Where are my families?

Where are my friends, neighbors and allies?

Where are they? He wondered

 

But Fie! All were past

All were consumed

And like a jade, he slouched to drown his sorrow

Knowing quite well that all were buried

And he stands…

A lone survivor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aina Oluwasegun Yakub

Popularly known as “Soloh” by friends, Aina Oluwasegun Yakub is a poet from western Nigeria.

11 Comments

  1. Tracy Andrew September 13, at 12:18

    Whao... I was lost but the poem found me. This is heavenly beautiful. Where can I read more of this?

    Reply
  2. Richard wood August 03, at 21:47

    What? This is like listening to someone's life experiences. This is more that poetry, this is reality in it true colors. I was fed and yet hungry that this lines of reality came to an end. An end that i wish was just the beginning. I will keep in a vault. This is treasure. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  3. sandra plate June 17, at 16:42

    whao... whao... This is worth reading a thousand times. I'm hungry for poems like this. Do you have more?

    Reply
  4. James lindoff January 16, at 04:17

    What a poem. It’s out from the norm. It’s exquisitely beautiful. It surely should be seen by the right mind. I wanna thank you for writing this, Do you have paypal?

    Reply
  5. Dr. Cutis April 06, at 17:02

    This is a tale of sorrow wrapped with joy. This is a phenomenal poem, worth trending on all platform. You are great.

    Reply
  6. Mariam March 21, at 16:21

    This is like a rainbow in the storm. Such is the power of this poem. It's heavenly beautiful.

    Reply
  7. Sandra blake May 08, at 16:51

    I'm surprised I'm just seeing this amazing verses, amazing poetry. The writer surely deserves a high recognition and award. Cos this is a speechless poetry with loud noise.

    Reply
  8. Leslie DeLuca September 09, at 21:51

    In a single moment life changes and one's whole world changes; you have written something so profoundly powerful and with such horrific vivid descriptive, it's as if you yourself have captured that moment and are the survivor. A rollercoaster of emotions ran amok through my mind while reading this and at the end I was wonderstruck at how such a haunting wonderful piece of writing could make me feel exhausted as if I had witnessed this nightmare myself. Such is the power of you and your words.

    Reply
    • SANTOSH KUMAR NAYAK October 24, at 16:24

      REALLY NICE. SIMPLY SUPERB. -SKN BY SANTOSH KUMAR NAYAK ASSISTANT PROF. IN ODIA, NILAMANIMAHAVIDYALAYA, RUPSA, BALASORE AFFILATED TO FAKIR MOHAN UNIVERSITY, VYASA VIHAR, BALASORE- 756001

      Reply
    • SANTOSH KUMAR NAYAK October 24, at 16:26

      REALLY NICE. SIMPLY SUPERB. -SKN THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS MR. Aina Oluwasegun Yakub BY SANTOSH KUMAR NAYAK ASSISTANT PROF. IN ODIA, NILAMANIMAHAVIDYALAYA, RUPSA, BALASORE AFFILATED TO FAKIR MOHAN UNIVERSITY, VYASA VIHAR, BALASORE- 756001

      Reply

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