BLAZING HOT (ISSUE 5)
BOOK BOOM
By Badamasi Aliyu Abdullahi
Much have I hurried
into the fold of your arms,
for in the chill of ignorance,
you hatched a warmth of knowledge
turning the rag of foolishness
into a lace of wisdom
Much have I wondered
about those who ignore you,
wandering in a lonely voyage
at the mercy of termites
tearing and eating you into slivers
away unbeknownst
Much have I laughed
at those who look at you in contempt,
assumedly a weightless object
not a pagination of endowment
but left in the company of dullards,
leaving a store of wisdom untouched
Much have I hoped
for those who yearn for you
to demolish their illiteracy
that blinded their visions
around circles of their foreheads
to join the queue of intellectual pilgrimage
Much have I pondered
about scholarly deposits
hidden in the ground of your pages
birthing booms from a glooms,
and build a mansion of hope from the sand of despair
for humanity’s fruit of bliss
Much have I craved
a roll of my brain in your clay,
and hairy bush of enquiry
to waltz out of the maze of oblivion
around the pinpricks of consciousness
for a get away from intellectual vertigo
Badamasi Aliyu Abdullahi, Secretary, Kano PIN Connect Center, is a Kano born multi-talented poet and graduate of Economics from Bayero University, Kano. He is an award winning writer in the Junior Chamber International Nigeria Essay Writing Competition in 2014. Badmasi is an unrepentant poet with unyieldingly passion for creative rendition.
A winner of a Presidential Award on Entrepreneurship in the Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria Youwin is also a JCI Certified Trainer who trains dozens of youths on Entrepreneurship, Leadership, ICT, Life Skills and Writing For Personal and Professional Growth.
BLACK CHILD
I, the African moorhen
dark-skinned,
bloody steam,
black to the bone,
red blood,
hotter than spice
I, squatted with stars
Sharing twilights
night and days
trees sleep
and slumber
Like old drunkards
in dreamless naps
I, bleached by sun
my lips coruscate
all Africans…
A sheer mass of pearl
covered by African Shells
folds hues of dear souls
I, the fountain of morality,
wet African walls,
my Africanness,
adorns the skulls of all;
make my earth a legend
with my giant tongue,
gladdening hearts of our ancestors
I, the mirror of Africa
lengthier than heaven
reflection of dreams
I, the pride of Kalahari
throne of Kilimanjaro,
will wear the lion’s fur,
for my lovely Africa
Maryam Idris Gatawa, Kano PIN CC Rep, is a young brilliant poet and writer who lives in Kano, Nigeria. She is a graduate of Economics from Bayero University, Kano; and a human activist with special concern on making the lives of the orphans tear-free. Writing and reading are what give her great joy as a passionate lover of the arts. Some of her appetizing literary works were published in the African Writer Magazine.
***
SOME POETS CANNOT ALWAYS…
(For Mary Mackey)
Some drums are not
As loud as gongs
Accelerating unbroken beats
That move palace gigolos dancing
Like tireless Koroso dancers
Thrilling crowds on end
Some poets will not
Carry their pens with them
Composing panegyric songs
In praise of the king
Some passengers opt
For the train in rowdy rush,
Others patiently await their turn
Stepping in alone!
Khalid lmam, Member of the Board of Trustees and Kano Lead Rep of PIN Connect Center, was born within the ancient walls of Kano, in 1973. He is one of the finest postmodernist African panegyric poets. Imam, a passionate teacher, translator, editor, literary columnist and a multiple award-winning playwright had publish in UK, US, India and Germany. He is a bilingual author of nine books some of which are available on www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY4CPV4. He has served on many ANA committees both at National and state levels. Imam single-handedly popularizes Teen Authorship in Kano since 2004 by facilitating dozens of creative writing workshops for students of secondary schools. Imam, who was described as “a bag full of ideas”, successfully coordinated READ ACROSS NIGERIA Kano national reading event, in April, 2016. Awarded, in 2011, with one of Kano’s highest honours for Service to Humanity, by the highly respected Board of Trustees of Kano Forum for his diligence and initiating many innovative ideas and investments clubs in the schools he taught. Presently, Khalid lmam, is the founder and Executive Director at Whetstone Arts & Translation Services- a leading translation firm based in Kano. “Justice, Fairness and the Quest for Egalitarian Societies” published in Germany is one his most recent books.
sure it’s going smoothly well regard