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Lit Mag · Poetry

Farewell Song

by Razak Malik

 

Yester-night in the

                Hazy moon-light
Tears littered the
               Corridors of those streets
Memories searched for
                                Lost dreams- shattered history
Once I heard dreams were born
                                         Now were crushed
                                            Crushed
                                                  Before
                                                                Twilight             – the moon mourned
I-F-Y
I heard dirges in the
 Dying hearts of mourners
       Wailings in the eyes of my kinsmen
      Rain gathered
                       – gathered
                 Clouds for secret meeting
   I see wandering legs before the altars
                            Your song journeyed fast
    Before my dance
I heard melodies –
             Mourning melodies
   Flames of remembrance
             Filled those passages – those canals
  Succor won’t help the dead moon
  Consolations are only for living souls
             Will they dry my tasteless tears?
O-M-A-L-I-C-H-A
I know
The race is
          S-h-o-r-t
          But the gap here is wide –
                                                                         W—i—d—e–r than what we thought
                               Memories are not the panaceas to missing sons
          I-f-y…..
                        Your moments are echoing drums in our ears
          We will see you-
                                     At the other end of the cross-road
                   Till then, your memory lingers on

1 Comment

  1. NigeriansTalk – Editorial: The Poetry of Simple Words says:
    April 16, 2012 at 8:21 am

    […] class polygamous lfe in Nigeria would do well to read it. This week, Razak Malik also gives us the Farewell Song, Michael Odejinmi wrote CONVERSIfy, while there is also Soji Cole’s Linger Still and […]