The Forgotten Sorcery Of The Poet || Suleiman Zailani

(For Afrah, Ismail, and The Poet of Dust)

Beware, O' smitten lasses
Of poets and sages
And the rascals of the written word. 

When the poet of dust mounts
His unholy pulpit, and preaches
His obsession—the apotheosis of the stubborn muse

—As Ba Sabouke, His foremost disciple
With fervid eyes gleaming from his lusty pen
Casts spell on our hapless maidens.
__
I look on in horror as our lasses swoon
Bewitched by the sorcery of the written word
Rushing headlong to the unholy dalliance
At Sabouke's lecherous den.

From the plains of Arafat, I croon in delirium
In self-amazement, spitting sizzling songs.
As Afrah gazes, dizzy with delight.
__
Beware, again, O' smitten lasses
Of bards and sages
And the rascals of the written word.

Bio: Suleiman Zailani is one of the pioneer members of ANA, Kano. His first collection, Eruptions from Within and Other Poems, was published in 2005.