Desecration of Innocence

By Abdulrahman M. Abu-Yaman

The soil of Yemen reeks of a zygote’s

innocence— exposed through a violent

crevice created by hot leads of man-made

steel that drew map of macabre on the

belly of the host when fireworks of stray

bullets danced in the atmosphere of humanity

.

The sandy soil swallowed the zygote’s

innocence into the abyss of its belly

to augment its thirst for blood on makeshift

battlefield carved out of civilian streets

.

But Nouhad, as her host would have

christened her, swears to tell God everything

about how her innocence underwent in—com—

plete metamorphosis, desecrated by mettalic

artefacts before she could tell right from wrong

let alone defend herself

.

Nouhad asks God for justice for her pounds of

flesh stolen in premature death in return for the

steak of purveyors that oxidized the flames of

destruction— like the gecko did against Prophet Ibrahim

Abdulrahman M. Abu-Yaman is a Nigerian writer and calligrapher, and winner of the Wakaso Poetry Prize (January 2021) and a finalist in Hysteria Writing Competition (2020). His works have appeared in Allegro Poetry Magazine, London Grip Magazine, Ann Arbor Review, Kalahari Review, Lagos Review and elsewhere. His Islamic calligraphy artworks were exhibited at the Kaduna Book and Arts Festival 2018.