LAMENTATION: "THE NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD" BY SUMAILA UMAISHA

We live in cracked

spaces strained

by memorised love.

We are crickets, loud

but faint to the ear,

like the footsteps

of death’s birth,

like smoke leaving.

Our next door,

too far to feel,

remains a shadow

in the cracks.

We lean on crutches,

learning to walk again,

milk teeth shining,

smiles left behind.

(c) SUMAILA UMAISHA 

- Nigeria.

The Story Behind the Poem

The poem was inspired by a story related to me by a colleague who travelled to the United States for a course.

Her rented apartment was home to several tenants, among them an elderly couple. Whenever she returned from class, she would often meet them sitting on the balcony. She would stop to greet them, and over time, these brief encounters became familiar.

Then, for about two weeks, she did not see them on the balcony. One day, she eventually saw the man sitting there alone. When she asked after his wife, he broke down in tears.

He later explained that his wife had died. But her death was not what made him cry. He cried because, since her death, my colleague was the only person who had asked after her.