​//Unearthly//

By Mahbubat Kanyinsola Salahudeen

It often happened at dinner.
The whistling
then came the blast
followed by an expulsion of breath
and knowing that I have been spared but only just
While somewhere
amid cries and choking clouds of smokes
there was a scrambling
a barehanded digging
of pulling out debris
what remained of a sister,
a brother, a grandmother

 
I wasn't at all surprised
when father said
fate is what is beyond man's control
 
In every book
everyone has a chapter
we reincarnate,
we come back again,
we are all characters
entertaining God
 
But then I wonder
if God was smiling or sobbing
when our breath
was rinsed by death
while we entertain.

​Writer's Biography

Mahbubat Kanyinsola Salahudeen is a writer, spoken word artist, poet, and human rights activist. She is a Communication and Language Arts student at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She has works featured and forthcoming with Spillwords, Poetry Anthology, Biscuit Hills, Mudroom, Ice Flow Press, and elsewhere. Besides storytelling, she is intrigued by music, sports, catering, and historical movies. She is a 2021 Girl Up Scholarship Fund Recipient, a 2021 Girl Up Project Award Recipient, and a winner of the 2021 IHRAF Creators of Literary Justice Award.