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Ahmed Abubakar Imam
Immortal Images
Each time I close my eyes
Images of the days gone by
Like a flood come surging
I see you emerge from the kitchen
Your eyes twinkling with tears
That dazzle like sapphires
On the neck of a fiery princess
Beads of sweat caress
Your ochre-colored face
As you roam
The whole compound
With the swiftness of a hart
Ever busy, never tired
Each time I close my eyes
In the coldest nights
Of our childhood you sit
Smug by the fireside
As we swarm around you
Like bees around honey
Savoring the warmth of your body
Rapt by hypnotizing stories
Flowing and echoing
With your slender voice
As the moon illumined your face
And tongues of fire flickered in your eyes
Then I sleep, yet in my sleep I see
Images of the days gone
Reminiscence
At dawn
When birds sing
Fluttering their wings
And dancing on tree tops
It is the vision of you
At noon
When wind blows
Soft across the fields
Offering sweet fragrance
It is the fantasy of you
At dusk
When sun retires
Behind the hunchback
Of the Ocean
It is the longing for you
At night
When stars rule the skies
Smiling down
Upon sleeping heads
It is the dream of you
And now
As the pen dances
To the melody
Of the strings of my violin
It is the memory of you.
Your Call
Amidst the dark walls
Of ignorance,
Your call rose, still rises,
Higher than the sun,
Banishing the ills of humanity.
The irate cauldron
Of hatred
In the flaming sands of Arabia
And the forces
Of Kisra, Persia, Alexandria,
Were crushed
Beneath your blessed heels.
When men assembled,
Men of valor,
In their multitude,
To annihilate you,
Angels descended.
Soon, booty was yours
And theirs
A painful punishment.
Until today,
Your call resonates,
Finding its dwelling
In the hearts of men,
Flowing from flawless pages.
From ocean to ocean
It flourishes,
From pole to pole
It echoes.
I stand
Aside Maqam Ibrahim,
Harkening to your call.
Neither fame nor fortune do I seek,
Nor longevity nor prosperity.
But, upon my passing, to join
The bliss of your company
And quench my thirst
From the stream of Al-kauthar.
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| Ahmed Abubakar Imam
received both his primary and secondary
education in Yola, Nigeria before
proceeding to A.B.U. for his B Sc Degree
in Accounting. He confesses that he was
inspired by Richard Ali and Elnathan
John, two writers with whom he shares
fond memories of Creative Writers’ Club,
Kongo Campus of the Ahmadu Bello
University. His poetry is much
influenced by the Sufi of northern
Nigeria. |
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