Prayers

May the ground hold our footprints, not the bodies of our beloved fragmented by bombs.
May a child not lie at a street in Jos – conversing with his dead mother.
May the gaze of the sun not be blurred by the dust of bombs.
May the violet rays not die with the sun.
May the dove not collide with the archways of the night.
May the night not last forever.
May the spring not die of summer.  
May the guitar not cry before it goes silent. 
May the poet’s voice be a song crossing barriers.
May a two-year-old in Zamfara not mistake a rainbow for a cyclone.
May we not sleep in fear and despair – forgetting to leave our windows wide open to the light.
When the light comes, may it not leak from our bodies.
May our wells be known as harbourers of water and not tears.
May tomorrow come with rain, enough to flood the land with peace.
And if we shall sail, let’s sail on the boat of freedom.