Poetry

Reuters photo

By

Alem Hailu G/Kristos

Let us leave divide and rule for the fool

Gripped by fright

A full-scale fight

Could once more breakout

At any moment be it

Day or night,

The cousins Ethiopia

And Eritrea

Were beefing up

Their military might

Locked in a border dispute

Exacerbating border

Inhabitants’ plight.

For long,

Leaders of the horn

And the international community

Had been observing developments agog

Forced to tune

To the cacophonous war song

“In military prowess

I am the one strong!

A rabbit, I will hack you

Like a fierce dog!”

In such shows of force

There was not

Squandered not resource,

Which could feed

Innumerable needy, of course.

In a paradigm shift

“Among siblings

If reign supreme must

Considerateness and peace,

For a border dispute

There is no room please.

Let us build a bridge

Not a wall

Towards common growth

The strife-ridden Horn

Gets on the ball

True to the court’s

Binding verdict

President Isaias

Take Bademe as a gift!

To the confluence

Adding up

Is the new road map!”

“Thank you Prime Minister

Dr Abiy

If love and developmental

Thrust are entailed

In the road map

Rest assured

I will accord

Your gesture

Thumbs up.

Yes, we have to leave

Divide and rule

For the fool!

If the horn

Is to get on the ball

Add up must all”

Alem Hailu G/Kristos

A published poet, novelist, editor, translator of masterpieces, literary critic, playwright and journalist from Ethiopia. M.A holder in literature, Addis Ababa University.

Looking for a traditional publisher of a collection of poems. My novel: ‘Hope from the debris of hopelessness’.