Poetry Weekly Features

Prelude to Light – Arikewusola Abdul Awal

         “…How
             Do I salvage the wrecked steel of my heart from the red
              Of an unholy war?”— Timi Sanni

Bundle this noise out my window. 
Huddle me against the world. Warm Lord,
You cuddle me when I grow cold

With loneliness. I have traipsed
To this wonderland—alas—to meet 
The ruins of a sacred horse
Tethered to a crumbling pole. I have met the broken urns—
Riven limbs of peace flung about for sightseeing.

Have I come to the desert to break 
My white-furred camel?

An oasis before me is riddled with pebbles;
O thirst! This thirst for light—this light so near,
Yet so distant to harbour my weary heart. O
Tumescent feet! I do not want to walk away 
Vanquished by a holy war. But this hour of

My sojourn is a world of dilemma. O Lord,
Shift the fullness of your lamp
To the dim land of my quest: lighten my path.
Let my life not wear away into an earnest damnation.

As a student of English and Literary Studies at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Arikewusola Abdul Awal is currently busy figuring out many things at a time. His recent writings have appeared/are forthcoming in The Zinnia Journal, Eunoia Review, One magazine, and South Florida Poetry Journal. He tweets @Awalbabatunde11

Featured Image by Nsikan Effiong

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