SprinNG
  • Publications
    • Anthologies >
      • ETB Anthology
      • AEAnthology
      • WAD Anthology
      • CBS Anthology
      • 2020 Why I Write
      • 2019 Why I Write
    • Interviews
    • Book Reviews
  • Submit
    • Submit to Us
    • Nigerian Writers Database
  • Fellowship
    • Writing Fellowship
    • Advancement Fellowship
  • Contests
    • Monthly Bookstore Gift-card
    • Annual Poetry Contest
    • SWAP >
      • SWAP 2022 Winners
      • SWAP 2021 Winner
      • SWAP 2020 Winner
  • SprinNG Lit
  • Services
    • Resume/CV Editing Services
    • Cover Letter Editing
    • Bio/Personal Statement Editing
  • Donate
  • About
    • Annual Report
    • Quicklinks

to aminat, for chasing darkness out of me

1/11/2022

17 Comments

 
By Hassan Usman
Picture
I still don’t know how you, a star, fell from
the sky into my body. 
How you knew there was gloom lurking under 
the blackness of my skin. 
I caught myself saying I didn’t deserve this light, 
this love, this rebirth;
for you, in your luminousness, had chased
every piece of darkness out of me. 
I held love in your eyes, not just love but also light
kept holding me back. 
You shawled me around your back & led me to where 
joy settles in the morning. 
& gently, gently, gently, you coloured my footprints 
with grace. 
See, it’s only the year that ends, I’ll keep wearing its miracles 
& memories like a golden bracelet
—allowing those magical moments we had adorn me. 
So I still remember it all, those days you gathered my tears &
morphed them into a sea with sparkling waters, 
those nights your voice bloomed the withering roses in my heart, 
those months in isolation, & how you still reached for me in
the dreams. 
Now, 365days gone, I sit close to your heart, writing you this poem.
Picture
Writer's Biography

​Hassan Usman, pen-named Billiospeaks, is 2/4 of Next Generational Poets. He studies Counselor Education at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State. He sees poetry as a way of relieving stress and filling up emptiness.

​His works have appeared in The Shallow Tales Review, Write The World, WattNigeria, and elsewhere. He enjoys listening to Nigerian street music and exploring the fashion world.

17 Comments
Olamide Ojediran link
2/11/2022 01:36:22 pm

This is such a lovely poem. Your love for Aminat was definitely deep. I really enjoyed reading this. Well done Hassan. We attend the same Uni

Reply
Wisdom Adediji link
11/11/2022 04:10:02 pm

This is a great poem, well done usman!

Reply
Njikonye Charles Nnamdi
14/11/2022 01:22:33 am

I enjoy reading love poems. *winks*

The lines of this poem are beautifully crafted. An amazing piece.

The poet sings about love's almighty power, to heal and save. In this poem, the poet explains that he has found love, and he'll cherish it with all his heart.

This poem reminds me of a friend who did really bad things, but changed when he started dating a girl who he really liked. They grew in love, and he changed completely. He told me that her love for him made him realize the good & peaceful side of life.

Reply
Nentapmun
19/11/2022 08:05:36 am

It’s always so sweet when the poet tells us that there is nothing else they can do but write to their lover 🥰

Reply
Rahma
19/11/2022 09:43:28 am

Reading and writing about love is always the best. No two pieces can ever be written the same way because love is felt and definitely expressed in different ways like two fingerprints can never be the same.
Finding solace in a partner that you love is capable of changing a person.
I really love how this poem was written, the words and everything so intricately designed that it feels warm, like a tight and loving hug.
We all deserve our Aminat who would love us and make us want to be better people.
I really love this poem, it's honestly so beautiful.

Reply
Adaora Chinedu
19/11/2022 10:25:09 am

“...You shawled me around your back & led me to where
joy settles in the morning. & gently, gently, gently, you coloured my footprints with grace.”

This poem defines the whole significance of Love.
Love nurtures, and rocks softly a once-broken
heart to wellness.
Love gives, and gives and gives.
Love is grace-full and kind.

I love the entirety of this poem.❤️

Reply
Michelle Emmanuel
19/11/2022 10:48:37 am

This poem speaks of something beautiful. Love.
This love can be seen in three ways:

The love a man feels for his lover (I held love in your eyes, not just love but also light..... )

The love a child feels for his mother (You shawled me around your back & led me to where
joy settles in the morning.
& gently, gently, gently, you coloured my footprints
with grace. )

The love a mother feels for her child ( I still don’t know how you, a star, fell from
the sky into my body.....
I caught myself saying I didn’t deserve this light,
this love, this rebirth;
for you, in your luminousness, had chased
every piece of darkness out of me )

In either way, it describes how love can change someone, make someone see life in a different way. Love can illuminate ones soul, heal a depressed soul, and change ones thoughts and give one a brand new purpose. This short but beautiful poetry describes just that.

Reply
Debbie link
19/11/2022 01:03:34 pm

This is lovely. Gently describing pure love as a journey towards light. A star not afraid of falling. A peaceful feeling despite loss.

Reply
Khadijah
19/11/2022 01:30:30 pm

The lines of the poem is that distinct one, it carries so much weight to Aminat whom the poem was addressed. Just like the poet, we have people that comes into our lives to lurk darkness away from us, give us strength and spread love to us. It indeed is amazing to have such people in our lives whom we cherish and make us a better person.

Reply
Nengak Precious
19/11/2022 03:41:46 pm

Such a beautiful poem. I think love has a way of bringing forward the most beautiful of poems

Reply
Daniel Aondona link
20/11/2022 04:37:41 am

These lines are short but indeed deep
Wonderful!

Reply
Chalbyen
20/11/2022 12:30:01 pm

This is Beautiful.

"I caught myself saying I didn’t deserve this light,
this love, this rebirth;...."

Love should make you feel warm, at peace...whole
The writer portrayed that message in this beautiful piece

Reply
Ugochukwu Anadị
20/11/2022 01:32:42 pm

A wise man once said, “at the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” What then happens when a poet is touched by love? The poem persona here, having been touched by their love for Aminat, who they described as "a star" and "light," known to chase away darkness, metaphor for depression and evil, answers this question for us.

An Igbo proverb says that “na-enye nwata ihe tụrụ ya n'anya, ọ jụọ enyere ya nye onye.” The poem persona is like that proverbial child who has been handed what they feels is too good for them and they now wonders how this star “fell from the sky into my body.”

This is an appreciation poem, an appreciation for a love that illuminates the gloomy. Have you a lover to impress? Hassan may be your way out😊.

Reply
Abubakar Auwal
20/11/2022 04:19:57 pm

This is very interesting love poem with beautiful lines and imagery.

Nice poem—

Reply
Boluwatife Aponmade
20/11/2022 06:21:48 pm

This is a beautiful piece that portrays emotions in its rawest form.

Reply
Jennifer
21/11/2022 09:17:55 am

Okay if there is anything to be said, I will first alias this poem "Ismaila" because it made me smile from the very first alphabet till the last punctuation mark. Your word play is really good, got my imaginations on full activity. I can say that with me the poem accomplished all the writer planned.

Reply
Ariyo Oluwabunmi Eunice
30/11/2022 03:46:57 am

Finding the right the person in life is like putting the missing part of a puzzle in it's actual place.
Life glows and becomes more beautiful when you're with the right person.
You wouldn't lay much emphasis on the daily negativity/challenges life brings about for they will sure come- being with the right person becomes an antidote and the greatest source of courage to scale through all hurdles.
Either poor or rich, you're comfortable since your life is filled with what is required to go through each day and come out strengthened!
Love is a language that conquers all circumstances and come out of it as a refined gold.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    The SprinNG 2023 Brochure

    SprinNG Quicklinks
    About SprinNG
    Contests
    Anthologies
    Interviews
    Book Reviews
    Nigerian Writers Database
    Recommended Literary Sites
    Writers Fellowship

      Subscribe to SprinNG Newsletters
    Subscribe

    For inquiries regarding publications email: 
    contact@SprinNG.org 
    ​and we will respond to you within 48hrs.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE SPRINNG 2023 BROCHURE

Copyright @SprinNG 2023
​

  • Publications
    • Anthologies >
      • ETB Anthology
      • AEAnthology
      • WAD Anthology
      • CBS Anthology
      • 2020 Why I Write
      • 2019 Why I Write
    • Interviews
    • Book Reviews
  • Submit
    • Submit to Us
    • Nigerian Writers Database
  • Fellowship
    • Writing Fellowship
    • Advancement Fellowship
  • Contests
    • Monthly Bookstore Gift-card
    • Annual Poetry Contest
    • SWAP >
      • SWAP 2022 Winners
      • SWAP 2021 Winner
      • SWAP 2020 Winner
  • SprinNG Lit
  • Services
    • Resume/CV Editing Services
    • Cover Letter Editing
    • Bio/Personal Statement Editing
  • Donate
  • About
    • Annual Report
    • Quicklinks