Poetry

UNAMID photo

By

Mujahyd Ameen Lilo

A War Can Never Be Fair 

“All is fair in a war… ” – Obafemi Awolowo

Innocent blood: pure, red, warm, sticky

Flows freely, raw and collects into a pool

Of danger on the African soil

And splashes and splashes; red and warm

Yet the flesh of a heart in his chest doesn’t stir, doesn’t sink

But wait you, has he even a heart at all?

For said he, it was all fair

The death carrying metal stones

From the modernised catapult of a red eared man’s technology

Rushed into the strong chest of African chest of innocent lives

And tear the bottom of hearts.

Yet it was fair to him.

Seeing naked, rusty haired children

Packed up in a refugee camp

Like a heap of dirty clothes, a lump of rubbish

With toothpicks of arms

Footballs of bellies

Crying with all the might that remained in the skeletons of their bodies

Starving, begging, crying, mourning.

Their young hearts broken;

their childish dreams shattered.

And it was fair to him the heart free chested man

Gunshots upon gunshots

Tau!

Metals upon metals

Grujj!

Glasses upon glasses

Ka!

Bombs exploding

Boom!

Stirring the peace of a still, quiet night

Planting fear in the hearts of men

Heartbeats upon heartbeats

And in the air, a distinct smell of war

Was what was fair to him, the heartless fair.

The Slate Of A Child Beggar

the mouth of my Qalam wearing lipstick

I scribble a short poem on my slate

it begins with the desert in my stomach

then of the burning palm oil

cuddled in my heels

of my muscles that are sore like the tamarind

my feet like old trunk

of the dirt in my clothes

that could not be cleansed

even if dipped deep in the ocean

of the pieces in my chest

I carry everyday

singing songs no hip sways to,

no head nods to.

I write of how I feel like a bird

wingless

with not even a leaf to cling onto

not a branch to lean onto.

Nobody reads my poems

so I wash them in my bowl

then gulp it down to the desert

and write another, another time

Mujahyd Ameen Lilo

Mujahyd Ameen Lilo was born in 2003 within the ancient walls of Kano, Nigeria. He is currently in SS2 of Sunshine Int’l College. He had been published in Daily Focus, Leavestory, Pravis Magazine and was once a Poet of the Week of Daily Trust. His story ‘Election Season ‘ got an honorable mention in the PeacePanel/ANA Kano short story contest.