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