adhan

the adhan / is more than just a call to prayer / it is a testimony

Image: inside of masjid. Photo by Utsman Media on Unsplash

subh:
here in my country the adhan
is more than just a call to prayer
it is a testimony or perhaps a reminder
that your body is your body until the next
day until the next day until the next day
it becomes a dua

zuhr:
today is friday, we listen to the خطبة
today is friday, we recite suratul الكهف‎
today is friday, we pray for [insert the names
of dead relatives] today is friday
which means, i’m wearing my father's jalabia
which means, my mouth is the mouth of my dead
mother & sisters singing maher zain’s i’m alive
which means, a day of the week we meet for jumu’ah
& not janazah which means, ghusl is another way
of washing grief away from the body.

asr:
my brother defenestrates his journal.
perhaps, he is tired of writing about grief.
// this weltschmerz & mischief is too much of a burden
to wear on my frail body //
he performs wudoo, & asks God for euthanasia.


maghrib:
just before the sun sets, a boy
witnesses his parent burn to ashes
what is a country if not the ash stains on this page
what is a country if not the ash stains
what is a country if not the ash
what is a country
what -

‘isha:
in the distance
the muezzin recites the adhan

Image: black-and-white shot of Sodiq smiling at the camera.

Sodiq Oyekanmi is a poet and a student of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His works appeared or are forthcoming on TSTR, Black Youth Magazine, Pigeonholes, Kalahari Review, Praxis, African Writer Magazine, Echelon Review and Brittle Paper. He is a stan of Maher Zain’s songs. He tweets @sodiq_oyekan