Watch a woman loose prayers from the cup of her mouth
if it won’t carry the ninety-nine names of Allah –
if you won’t see the sweetness
of her prayers entice
beautiful butterflies to the hem of her gown.
my mother kneels at the Calvary,
I watch her mouth dance
like a happy boat.
I watch her rain prayers
on my head as if watering the
flowers that prostrate on her
lover’s sepulchre.
I watch angels with rainbow wings
pluck her prayers to deliver to God.
if you open her heart
like a short manual of stoic ethical advice,
you won’t find pangs.
you won’t find her eyebrows
waterlogged with saltwater.
you’ll see the glory of her son
lightening in her heart
like the chandeliers in a big cathedral.
watch a woman fling her panacean smile
like an enchiridion,
it’ll form a body of roses
to feed a hungry eye.
it’ll form a body of rain to dampen your skin
with many names of bliss & euphoria.
before father became a new admitted crease
in God’s palm,
I knew he was a lover of every flower,
so he named his woman a rose flower.
& today, I pray many flowers bloom on his grave forever & ever. amen.
Olalekan Hussein
(Nature) is an 18-year-old poet from Lagos, Nigeria, where he studies at the prestigious Arabic/Islamic institution (Darul Falah). He writes on diverse subjects including Humanity, Nature, Love, Memories, what troubles the mind. He has much love for flowers, too. His works appeared/forthcoming in African Writer Mag, Kreative Diadem, Third Lane Mag, Brittle Paper, The Shallow Tales Review, Libretto Mag, Livina Press, Rigorous Mag, Better Than Starbucks & other reputable mags. If he’s not reading Arabic books to augment his knowledge, he reads Quran & sometimes write. Find him on: Twitter @olalekanhussei1. Instagram @olalekanhussein71. Facebook Olalekan Hussein Oluwalonimi.