Is He Gone? ! Poem by G. Akanji Olaniyi

Is He Gone? !



Is he gone? !
Abu was asking just nobody
Ummu tried, very hard, holding back her tears, but she could not
They were lost and lonely
But there were hundreds around also in the mood
All were running about looking for their precious things
Walls shattered, roofs ripped, floors scattered, tables broken, chairs flung;
Doors ajar, windows open; the explosions did the havoc
Blood splashed everywhere like an artist had his qalam broken and ink splashed
Lifeless bodies scattered and it looked like we saw the movie recently
Abu was still asking the question: Is he gone? !
Ummu had started crying now; she was too weak to continue to hold back
Abdullahi laid on the floor lifeless
Now Abu gathers the courage to carry him in his arms
And Ummu's tears drips to drop on Abdullahi
The grief is fulling up amidst the ensuing confusion in Peshawar
Abu and Ummu looked up and all they could say is:
'From Him we have come and to Him we shall return'

OLANIYI G. AKANJI
(C) 2014

This poem was written after the killings of students at a secondary school in a military barrack, in Pakistan, last year!

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