These three poems by Maryam Yusuf Zubairu were especially chosen for The Bala Selection.
The Bala Selection is a bi-weekly poetry feature curated by Ismail Bala for Konya Shamsrumi, showcasing distinctive new voices and resonant works from across Africa and beyond. Through his discerning eye, each selection highlights the craft, music, and emotional clarity that define contemporary poetry in its most luminous form.
Ismail Bala is a poet, translator, and critic whose work bridges classical poetics and modern sensibility, and whose mentorship has shaped a generation of emerging African poets.
Big Things
There is something
about the big things
that halts you in your tracks—
a deer caught in headlights.
The moon smiling upon the sea,
even when its only option
is the black fabric of night
or dimly lit rooms.
The weight and silence of shame
standing in the doorway of quiet thoughts-
Too full to speak
Too heavy to drop
Earth quaking truths
about a lie you loved
deeply into faith.
I am trying to hide in the earth,
and no one is there to stop me.
But something about big things—
moons, deer, silence, shame—
makes me halt
in my tracks.
I Think of You
These days, I think of your waterfall laughter,
your warm eyes,
and how they soaked up my words.
I think of the time before you
as an unresponsive audience—
and the time after,
like an endless desert
that refuses to dance under the rain.
I think of the birthmark on your waist,
how it laid bare the stories
your body holds like a book,
how you told me your name at the end—
the undoing of every truth I had learned
I think of how I had to let you go,
your skin still under my nails like dirt,
the taste of your blood
stuck in my molars.
I think of how much I have written you
as often as I have thought of you—
so much
that my hands have been hurting
for quite some time now.
Flesh and Skin
Mama and I run out of things
to talk about quicker than
I dart out of the room once
I pass a message.
Last night I lay my head on
her pillow soft thighs
and all the red written entries
faded from my journal
I gave her curt answers
the kind you offer when asked “how are you?”
I had just given up the 5th attempt
with ragged breaths, palms slick with sweat
The body may have a language
one only those that have found
Intimacy with our skeletons understand
And mama still believes
I am solely flesh and skin
About Maryam Yusuf Zubairu
Maryam Yusuf Zubairu is a schoolteacher and poet who writes from Kaduna, Nigeria. She has a keen interest in the art of hosting book chats, and several of her works can be found on her Instagram page, @emwhyzee__.
She was the second runner-up for the Gimba Suleiman Hassan Esq Poetry Prize 2023, and her poem “My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams” was longlisted for the Brigitte Poirson Literature Prize 2023. Maryam has graced both intimate stages and roaring audiences at For the Love of Poetry, Kano and at the Kaduna Hilltop. She is deeply passionate about her deen, words, the moon, long walks, and the pursuit of self-betterment in all aspects of life.
These three poems by Maryam Yusuf Zubairu were selected by Dr Ismail Bala.
