The
Suffering in This Land
I
have seen hewers of wood
Thronged
into the bush
In
the wee hours of the day
Only
to return when the sun is travelling home
With
things that cannot
Fetch
a day’s meal.
I
have seen breakers of stones
Toil
from dawn to dusk
With
pain engraved on their foreheads
You
need not to go close
To
understand their agony.
I
have seen broken men mumbling
You
need not to peer into their faces
To
understand that they are faces
Without
bodies
And
faces without bodies.
I
have seen struggling souls
With
their wares
Stranded
by the roadside
Cursing
silently
Their
purse is empty
They
didn’t have what it takes
To
settle the taxman
So
they can continue their journey
To
the market.
Aliyu
Yakubu
Dr.
Aliyu Yakubu is a lecturer at the Department of Applied Biology/ Microbiology,
Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa. He is into poetry and short story writing. His
work have appeared in Spillwords,
Arkowrites, and other online platforms.
Location:
Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Email:
aleeyaqub29@gmail.com
Phone
Number: +2348067834134.
Acknowledgement
I
wish to express my profound appreciations to Odu Ode, Sani Kasim Ghabi, Eze
Ifeanyichukwu Peter, and Isah Aliyu Chiroma who have been keeping the flames of
my literary desires burning. More appreciations are due than are conveyed here.
Poetic and powerful.
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