Shall I say my Fatherland is running mad
after having gone farther in the world of another Land?
Shall I say my Fatherland is loosing the grips
that holds firm the pole holding high the banner of our Land?
Shall I say my Fatherland is spewing forth the DOs
& the DON’Ts after I have aged to father my Father’s land on my Fatherland?
Shall I say my Fatherland’s hand is turning hard
that hard is the muse to imprint the remedy to the young lads’ future hazard?
Shall I say my Fatherland cannot see how hard
the time before, how harder the time present and how
the hardest the time to come might be if the sword’s handle
is not released for the future warriors in the High Land?
If my Fatherland is all ears, all eyes, all sane..
the butcher’s son a victim of hunger should not be.
—
Ridwanullah Sakariyah is a Nigerian poet who hails from Ilorin, Kwara state. He is currently studying English language at the Lagos State University, Ojo, having obtained NCE in English and Islamic studies at Imam Hazmat College of Education, Ilorin. He is passionate about poetry and his writing interest stems from personal experiences and socio-political trends. His poem ”Beside the Beach” has been published by POEMIFY PUBLISHERS while another poem of his is forthcoming in ILA magazine. He emerged Best Poet of the Year at PFM (insert the year). Ridwanullah holds to the axiom that “The artists are those who give life to arts.”