The Aftermath | Abraham Kedong Ali

(cover photograph direction: David Obi)

The brown dust on the horizon,

speaks of the cold to come beforehand,

and the fresh memories of the festival

in December, a time when the Saharan

storm thrives.

The young and old tour home to feast

with loved ones. The smell of the dust tells

of foggy mornings, smoky mountains, and city

dwellers parading their pearls to fizzle out of the

village, as the new year approaches, carrying a lot

of debt for the foolish villagers, one who borrows

money to impress the hamlet and the city-dwellers

who incur debt to entice the young girls. They,

the city-dwellers plant illegitimate seeds in

the young and scurry on time to dismiss

this claim when accosted.

January ends the fête. It extends the season’s dryness

and gradually paves the way for the heat.

The streams cease to run. Water goes into hiding.

The price of pure water is hiked. The sun reigns

In the sky. It wields its power overall. We weep through

our skin and patiently wait for the rainy season.

As time glides on, we learn about the aftermath of

the fete in the village.

Abraham Kedong Ali

is an emerging poet from Atyap land, a minority ethnic group in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. He holds an MA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Jos and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. His work was shortlisted for the Garden City Literary Festival, and his poetry has appeared in The Wole Soyinka: Herald at 90 anthology, Ultramarine Literary Review, and other publications. Drawing deeply from the oral traditions of his heritage, his poems explore themes of memory, displacement, and resilience.