An Answer To A Friend Poem by A A Umar Udubo

(For you, the dead and the confused beings,
For that person in me and you, for the trespassing presence in us)

One by one, we depart this ephemeral bliss
only to see once more in the deathless abode
oh soul brother, you succumbed at this dawn?
inside out, in the recess of our minds,
like the soul you no longer possess
we trail making no sounds
to your end where we begin

At the rendezvous
you look into the mirror
your brother's face
delve in
trace those missing steps
on the intricate landscape
carve your image
you find no voice to vindicate
what eyes can't see
you stretch your hand
towards what you can't reach


at home
we part our lips
we laugh to shield our cries
our frame has weakened
our internal voice is heard no more
our mind can but slip
we close our eyes and see
beyond the imaginary veil
we talk and got misconstrued


(In our struggle to defy the conflicting derives within: the will to live and the will to return to naught)