These three poems by Sulaiman Zailani were especially chosen for The Bala Selection.
The Bala Selection is a 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.
Crossing the Rubicon
Pining and humbled, Oh lord
Within the squalor of my guilt
My heart knelt
At the sacredness of your hallowed words
In horror the wayfarer glances
Back at the scattered fragments
Of his dirty footprints along the beaten path
What munificence, what benevolence!
To deserve this unending grace
Petrified at the brink of a gorge
Down the pit of hell
Your succor descends upon my undeserving soul
What munificence, what benevolence!
That loosens the grip
Of the shackles of my soul
To expand my breast on heavenly flight
And set my faith aglow.
To swiftly cross the quaking bridge
Rocked by the sentinels of hell
To the expanse of certitude where I sail
Through ethereal seas
To eternal bliss my vaunted goals.
Tranquil Night
I stand transfixed
Savouring Venus unclad
In all her pristine glory.
The dimmed light accentuates
Pure innocence in a voluptuous frame.
Bending to smooth out the bedspread
And muttering sweet nothings
The room creates a sudden ambience
Of majestic sensuality!
Despite the Spartan spectacle:
The room, devoid of a bed
Cheap blinds adorn a simple window frame.
Tranquillity descends!
In the austerity of our room.
We sense these rays.
Penetrating every pore of our souls:
The divine approbation of our bond.
I stand transfixed,
As Venus beckons in all her innocence
To express our love in rhythms and cadences
To crescendos of physical interaction.
Do I Toil Through?
Do I toil through
The vagaries of our times
Where the lines blur
Between the truth and lies
For ambitions sake?
Why do I toil
When my enemies gather
Eyes red and fiery with loathing
Seek my soul and my prized possessions
Intent to assail my being
And waste my work?
I must toil to see it through
To stand, to fight
To vanquish my vaunted foes
To fulfil my dreams
For self and selflessness
To ensure a world
Lived in peace and harmony
To leave a legacy of chivalry
Unrivalled
Toil then I must!
About Sulaiman Zailani
Suleiman Zailani was born in Zaria, Kaduna State. He holds an HND in Mining Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Bayero University, Kano. Zailani is an active member of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Kano State Chapter and is a recipient of the 2003 and 2025 ANA Kano Merit Award for his contribution towards the development of literature in Kano. He presently works in the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Warri, Delta State. Crossing the Rubicon is his second published anthology.
