ELEGIAC ROMANCE: "HELD HOSTAGE" BY ABDULMALIK YAHYA

I hope this leaves a smile

resting on your face,

soft enough to wake the dimple 

I once knew.

I remember times we envied the sun 

from rising,

just to hold the night, 

in a forever veiled by moonlight. 

Time stood still!

It dared not touch the clock

hanging crooked above your bed…

we ticked in its place.

It dared not dilute the purest path...

we tipped the night forward. 

Time stood still,

we held it hostage.

We counted forever

and one day more,

laughter strangled the brightest dark

we knew.

Eyes closed under the blanket, 

we whispered our fates

so our faith was ours,

true and true,

not knowing that sunrise

does not negotiate with lovers,

it breaks in

and leaves fingerprints

on the walls. 

Where is tomorrow’s heaven

when today 

still smells like smoke from curtains

that still hold your scent?

We are,

but held hostage. 

Time is no longer still.

© ABDULMALIK YAHYA 

(The Punsmith)

- Nigeria 

12-02-2026

The poem reflects on an intense romantic relationship where the lovers once felt powerful enough to “hold time hostage” and suspend reality in their private world. Their shared intimacy created the illusion of permanence, but sunrise—symbolizing reality and inevitability—breaks in and disrupts that dream. In the end, the speaker confronts loss and lingering memory, realizing that time has resumed its course, leaving them emotionally captive.