Elegy for Malcolm X
Abdulkareem Adéníji 1998 (Osun State)
the sun was set in haste, left the world
to no light, ill-fated; sunlight has been
an eye of the day, the human kingdom
saved from the gloom. So much Grief
won the main space in people's hearts,
seized the breath, struck the body hard,
felt no pity.
an ephemeral term in this marketplace;
what use are the dreams and the moves
when flowers could be withered at bud
one by one, like a seed "bury so deep"
a two-roof room becomes a new house,
tears water the faces, that yet-to-death
imagines, their own very last breath.
walk in, take away, it has the power to
force—thrall
Oh, man, you left good footprints but
no farewell
It is too soon, the sacrosanct realm of
martyrs
I hope you wake up in a pleasant place
over yonder:
the leaves of the tree fell off, all with its
fruits, how?
the earth and them that dwell, no one
firmly did; the trial
through the sun, through the moon
we witnessed the anguish
the waters, the fires
you got them infirm—Alas!
more than a thousand sighs myself
uttered, on your transit
Ha! Oh, hey, how can I be peaceful in
the loss?
my man, are you aware of your planting?
it blooms well, everyone finds it beautiful;
its branches give spirit to moribund here
I can't live without its fragrances
for it did not and would not ever worsen,
writing to you, you must read—we will try
to liven it up, a blest path you left by.
how could you believe the sun that set
is dead?
ever the day comes, the rays of the sun
will also be shone, forever.
About this poem
a remembrance in honour of Malcolm's deathday.
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Written on August 29, 2022
Submitted by Khadhamskippo on August 29, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:32 min read
- 4 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAXXXXX BXXXXCC XXXXXDBEXX FGXXDXXXAX XGXXFHH XXFE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,485 |
Words | 305 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 10, 10, 7, 4 |
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"Elegy for Malcolm X" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/134958/elegy-for-malcolm-x>.
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