Poetry – Hauwa Saleh Abubakar

I Dreamt Of My Father Today

This is the first time he visited me since he left. 

In my dream

He was sitting healthy on a bed 

But I found myself walking on the opposite side

And no matter how fast I walked

I still couldn’t reach him. 

 

Even in a dream

It seems like some things are unreachable

Even in a dream

It seems like some longings cannot 

Be fed

 

I am worried I will dream of my father again

And no matter how fast I walk

I will still never reach him

 

Revolution

I am terrified of being held for too long

I worry that if someone’s fingertips linger

For too long on my skin

It will unravel me from the core

It will make all my edges fall off

Like dried leaves of a tree in harmattan

I worry I will be lost to the wind

That it will gather me in its arms

And take me far above the clouds 

And I will lose my ground

 

When someone’s tenderness touches the soft

Fragile surface of my skin

I feel it start at the bottom of my stomach

A small revolution

Threatening to tear me apart 

But I want to be whole

Let me be whole

Let me keep this ground