THREE SHOUTS FOR IZZIA

Shout One
How do you say goodbye
by way of a tribute,
and avoid the pressure of staying mute?

How do you say goodbye
to a fraternal friend
whose life comes to an abrupt end?

How do you say goodbye
when death sternly stuns
and the Muse silenced, turns,
recedes like a low tide?

How do you say goodbye?

Shout Two
A shout,
just a shout
crossing the feudal wall,
like a jail-breaking,
penitentiary-scaling
prisoner reaching
for the space of freedom,
wailing to break free
from oligarchic fetters.

A shout,
just a shout
across the wall….

How do you say goodbye?

Shout Three
The shout has crossed the wall,
with no parachute
to break the sudden fall.

How do you say goodbye,
without a tear in your eye?
without a stammer in your speech?
without sorrow in your heart?

The shout has crossed the wall,
how do you say goodbye?


Emman Usman Shehu