Shehu Abubakar Niasse

What is war?
War is that bloody bastard lying awake on the rusty lips of an armament. Gun.
Pointed at the temples of a different clan.
War is that cruel thing sitting on the point of a siletto,
...

Who shall pay the due debt unpaid?
Who shall say the truth yet unsaid?
And these kids I still upbraid
Who shall them, when they tantrums throw, scold?
...

Let the sky roar and rumble
And beat me with whips of rains.
Let the earth quake and crumble
And fall the walls of world.
...

Ramadan Mabruk
Last year were those clamouring voices
Of course, were of its (Ramadan)departure
Coming in of this month has aroused delighted noises
...

...roads are dust we trudge with legs
...wines are water we drink to dregs
Knelt knees are for pride to beg
Dreams unhatched like a rotten egg
...

Of all things that come afterlife, death is the most certain.
You might not know what happens before birth or what life there may be after death.
But, certainly, you know someday you'll be bereft of air to breathe.
So, while you still walk yourself over this earth,
...

When a black boy smiles,
His teeth are gold.
That's his greatest possession
Yet he avails it to all— free, unsold.
...

meelah,
how long before the star in your eyes impregnates my heart.
how long before the slaughter becomes a kill.
i have brought myself to you surrendered, laid on the slaughter slab—
...

There's a cutting sound of knives and machetes from the yard, hitting bones, as plates clatter in the kitchen & pots burn black. Glasses clink as men say 'Cheers to more.' I say, 'Cheers to more.'

In the center of Mecca, women in simple coverings and men in plain robes pray and circumambulate. Eid is here again, with nostalgic whiffs of burning meat and the fragrance of loved ones nearby.
...