Yes, death is the best option
For it protects the unprotected
And claims the unclaimed
92. WHEN I AM GONE
Whenever you heard
That I have been pronounced dead
Do not cry for me
For I did not belong
To this world, and
The world doesn’t belong
To me, thus
I will not miss the world
When I am gone
It has not accepted me
Nor I it
Weep thus for yourselves
That the world still has
You in its grip
I shall miss nothing
When I am gone
93. NOTHING HAS CHANGED
If I should die today
Nothing will change tomorrow
For nothing has changed
Since the last time my father
Breathe his last
It is the same sun
That had risen the next day
It is the same moon
That sets at dawn
The same stars adorned
The skies
The same sun will set tomorrow
The same moon will rise with the tides
The same stars will adorn the firmaments
Nothing will change
If I should die today
94. A TICK OF TIME
A time comes in life
When everything becomes
Thick
A sonorous voice
Becomes hoarse
Thick lips stands
Where same had poised
And a padded thud
Was just a while ago
Cat walking the marble
Floor
In a nick of time
Life ticks away
BOOK 5: SPIRITUAL
95. PURE PERFECTION
I searched and looked
I couldn't find another word
To describe Muhammad
But pure perfection,
Pure perfection
Yes, that perfect person
That gave back humanity
It humanness, and took off the bondage
Liberated it from the ideology of
The Original sin
He gave the woman
Her place in life
As not only the helper
Of man but a queen
To be respected and adored, at all times
He covered her as a shield
From the eyes of those who only see
In her a feast for their eyes
And the water to quench their thirst at night
She, to him is more than that, she is also an heir,
Of both the land and her father's name
As a child she is to be adored, and
A gentle lady as any gentle man,
When she grows up,
As a mother, a gate to paradise, of her sons,
Only he will pass through whom she allows
96. VICTORIA'S SON
They came, like the Gog and Magog
Across the seas, mountains and plains
With their bleached skins and drossy hair,
Lean stomachs and dry lips, strange tongues,
They packed the strong amongst us -- men and women
As cattle, sheep and pigs -- they treated us.
They came, like the Gog and Magog
Across the seas, mountains and plains
With tanned skins and oily hair
Pot-bellies and glossy lips, stranger tongues
And packed the gold, diamond, silver and bronze -- even as we watched
As a reward for their hard earned labor of teaching us -- they stripped us.
They came, like the Gog and Magog
From across the seas, mountains and plains
With a scripture and a crucifix and motives in their minds
They promised to show us the way, not to the moon
They packed our souls and spirit -- even as we sing
As a reward for us, they say, a blissful heavenly home -- they vanquished us.
They came, like the Gog and Magog
Across the seas, mountains and plains
They flew in, to preside over meetings
With business executives and religious fathers,
With their backs against the walls -- they faced us
For they alone are of the Lord's race -- and lord it over us.
Thus they will continue
Coming, and going, designing
As we obey sheepishly, every directive, every advice
Until Victoria 's son comes,
And with one stern warning of " You evil generation" he'll vanquish them
But until then, there will be no peace.
97. GOD IS
Power is not everything
Wisdom is
Wealth is not everything
Health is
Knowledge cannot be everything
Reason is
Happiness is also not everything
Peace is
Beauty is not everything
Love is
The universe cannot be everything
Heaven is
98. THE WHIRLWIND OF ILLUSION
My enemy posed before me
All the glittering things of life
He guided my steps towards quest
For stately men, fashion and display
I hear his voice in men’s tone and
Feel his presence in their embrace
He stood erect in a grip of emotion, beholding me
Despairing, agitated and frustrated
Because it was written, even from the first
That I shall not respond to his beckon
He knows too well that I shall pass unharmed
Through the turbulent terrain of tribulation
Thus, whenever I see a glittering Porsche parked
I smile, for I know he is very much around
Diabolos – A friend for all season if I should leave God
Diabolos – An enemy of all times if I should seek God
99. WHAT IT TAKES
I am not ashamed
To be a servant of Allah
Just as they are not ashamed
To be the servants of their whims
I take great pride
In being numbered
Among the witnesses of the Prophet
Of the last generation
I hide not myself
Behind borrowed identity
Pretending to be somebody
Whose attitude in life I inwardly despised.
I would rather be free
Of all earthly constrains and free myself
From the gods of the market place
And the gods of the social life.
They may say I am arrogant
Obstinately rebellious
Unwilling to be bent and twisted
To amending rules made by man.
But that is what it takes
One has to be completely free
Form all the gods that do not know.
100. FEAR
I have stopped the recitation
Let the demons hit me
Full blast
I am now ready to burn with anger
So that I surprise even the demons
That are working against me
I am not afraid any more
And that is what surprised them the more
How can I not fear
How dare I not fear the unknown?
If I can't fear them
Fine
But how can it be humanly possible
For me not to fear you
101. AT FIRST
My LORD! Nothing is
Bigger, than the heavens and
The earth, compared
To me, without You, thus
How big is nothing!
For then I will be a google of
Miles away from nothing
How dare I then be nothing
Without You! There won’t be me
But You are, so I am!
And nothing is a google of
Miles away from me
For I am with You, so
I am!
102. BLIND FURY
The devil it was
That wants to be my friend
He called on me and called me out,
Then we conversed
“Maryam” he said,
“Ramadan is past”
“Yes”, I said, “but we do not wish”
“Why did you say that!?”
He was furious
He was really mad at me for responding thus.
“Because we were somehow closer,
With the one you denied”
I concluded.
I said that, making the matter worse
His face contorted in blind fury.
He turned away in his usual way
To console himself or to hold
A private council, in order to decide
What position to take concerning his aim
He rummaged through his bag, searching
And brought out a sealed up tin
That probably contained the choicest
Abomination reserved for selected targets
I watched him closely, praying, silently
Pleading for protection with the Almighty
Form the one who claimed to know me
To be taken completely away from him.
Before he can turn with his dreaded Souvenir
I transformed myself, retreated my steps
From the friendship there and then
Went back instantly, to where I belonged
Twice I play host to the dubious
Curmudgeon by all respect, a pitiful sight
For one who claim to rule the world.
A dedicated Advocate
To all the darkness that blinds the eyes to all vision
He does want me desperately
To turn and twist as he pleases
But I do turn earnestly,
In humble submission
To the LORD of the worlds
I am not embittered nor did I shed tears
For the loss of a friendship that was
From the start built on deceptive caprice
He is now gone never to return, I pray.
103. THE NIGHT OF POWER
Lord I have seen Your Glory
As it lit up the night in the sky
That You are the only One
Please keep the lights shining for me
Lord I have seen that Spirit
As he took position in the sky
I’ve recognized that Spirit
And the white winged that were with him
Lord keep the light shinning for me
There is light in the sky
Peace all around
On the Night of Power
That cannot be paired
Keep the light shinning for me
Lord I was once in darkness
Groping and feeling around
But You brightened my pathway
Ensure that I walked on Your way
Keep the light shinning for me
Lord I recognized my weakness
Confess the weakness of the flesh
But I am strong in spirit
By the leave of the Mighty and Strong
Keep the light shinning for me
There is pain in my heart
Tears in my eyes
A burden on my shoulder
Wearing me down
Keep the light shinning for me
There’s Joy in my heart
Light in my eyes
There is a feeling of triumph
That cannot be wrong
Lord keep the light shinning for me
Oh my Lord
Please, keep the lights shining for me
Oh my Lord
104. FOOTSTEPS
To all those who came into the world
And left, leaving their footprint
Behind written
In the sands of time
They are those who despite their obstacles.
Continue to look up ahead. Hopefully
Those who despite visible and invisible odds
Are set to reach their goals in life
They are those. Who wholly submit themselves
To the light of the heavens and earth
To the Lord of the Worlds
They are those who are truly misunderstood
105. AT FIRST
At first-the World
Took me out of my mother's womb, and
Placed me on her arms
Until I grew
Then the World took me away, and
Placed me in the classroom
Of life,
Until I graduated
Then it took me by the hand
And hand me over
To the Muse
And I drank
At first I sipped
Then I gulped
From the Muse's
Until I am drunk
Then the World came and
Took me by the hand
Lift me off the ground and
Placed me on the threshold of Life
And now, I am the World
106. YOU WERE THERE
At the beginning
Wish you were here
At the end
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About the Author
Maryam Ali Ali is a lecturer with Sa'adatu Rimi College of Eeducation, Kumbotso Kano State, Nigeria. She graduated from the University of Jos, majoring in Islamic Studies, and had her Masters Degree from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and is currently undergoing a PhD programme with the Bayero University, Kano. She was the ANA National Financial Secretary (2007 - 2009), National Treasurer (2009 -2010). Her Books included Chief Dudu and the Golden Seat, The Faces of Naira, as well as three other Novellas in Hausa, Fuskokin Naira (1997), (which was translated into English, and titled The Faces of Naira), Sai Gani na Biyu (1999) and Almajiri (2006), and has numerous poems published in Newspapers and Anthologies, including: When the Rocks Cried Out, Wings of Dawn, The Pyramids, Camouflage and Crossroads.
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