Mendicant

My heart erupts 

Like a molten magma

My eyes jiggle

Tears drip like droopy jelly

I hear not like a man

But the tiniest of sounds

Hit the caves of my ear,

Voiceless voices,

Of mendicants, 

Beseeching

Sadaqah sadaqah,

For what to eat

They slide down defenselessly

With hands tied haplessly,

Agape, we watch helplessly.

Their blurry vision 

And drying vital vitality,

Dying in a blaze of agony out in the open

Asking again and again

Sadaqah.

A Poem by Muhammad Muddathir Salihu