Hassan Usman
at the mention of happiness
last year saw me looking for exits in my own body
this is how black boys abscond from too much darkness
i learnt that grief is a stubborn grass
it grows where it’s not wanted
so to survive, i sit within a discolored poem
adding echoes to the sounds of hope
but does the world know the sea also suffers thirst?
it’s a new year & at the mention of happiness
i am still unable to command my lips to a smile
everything i give a name is swallowed by silence
i swear i do not know the origin of this anguish
i do not know how to hold grace like an egg
without cracking it
i faith in heavens to undo the years spent in ruin
but it’s as if God is on a long vacation
it’s as if the angels, too, have settled on land
maybe when i offer myself to a whirlwind
i will find my body shawled around the arms of peace
this is how black boys abscond from too much darkness
i learnt that grief is a stubborn grass
it grows where it’s not wanted
so to survive, i sit within a discolored poem
adding echoes to the sounds of hope
but does the world know the sea also suffers thirst?
it’s a new year & at the mention of happiness
i am still unable to command my lips to a smile
everything i give a name is swallowed by silence
i swear i do not know the origin of this anguish
i do not know how to hold grace like an egg
without cracking it
i faith in heavens to undo the years spent in ruin
but it’s as if God is on a long vacation
it’s as if the angels, too, have settled on land
maybe when i offer myself to a whirlwind
i will find my body shawled around the arms of peace
Biography
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Hassan Usman (he/him), pen-named Billiospeaks, is 2/4 of Next Generational Poets. He studies Counselor Education at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin. He sees poetry as a way of relieving stress and filling up emptiness. Winner of Poetry Unlimited 3.0, 2nd place winner (Age 15-18) Dawnprojectnetwork Poetry & Pictures, Top10 ManiPoetry Competition, and runner up AMBNPL’21. His works are/forthcoming in The Shallow Tales Review, Kissing Dynamite, Arts Lounge, My Woven Poetry, and elsewhere. He’s on Twitter and Instagram @billiospeaks.
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