A Poem in Which I Mourn a Friend — by Fadairo Tesleem

January 16, 2022

Years after the loss of his friend, Fadairo Tesleem brings us a poem in which the young Nigerian poet mourns such an untimely departure with these poised verses that are watered with grief.

A Poem in Which I Mourn a Friend

Fadairo Tesleem

I know how reflexive you were
to the clarion call of death.

If the dragon still lives,
the one that pronounced your death,
let it film life and take it up to the heavens,
so you’d see how your death
watered every land with grief.

I passed through your grave after years,
and split at all that fell within my sight:
this land you were tucked into.

I cursed death,
the doctor who confirmed your passing,
and the lorry that conveyed your body.

Our mischievous yells reached the crown,
he asked if death has done beyond
taking a soul and we said yes,
he’s parted a mother from her fruit
and a woman from her husband.

A wicked water has put out a bright flame in our family.

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About the Contributor

Fadairo Tesleem

Fadairo Tesleem is a young Nigerian poet who writes from Ilorin, Kwara State. He is a teacher, a poetry coach and a literary critic. He is a final year student at the Kamal School of Arabic & Islamic Studies (Ilorin, Kwara State). Fadairo is a member of Hill-Tip Creative Art Foundation, Kwara State branch, and also a member of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA Osun state branch). His poems are published or forthcoming in Fiery Scribe Review, Pangolin Review, Queer Toronto Literary Magazine, Arts Lounge, Best of Africa, Blue Minaret, Down in the Dirt, Ninshãr Arts and a host of other publications.