Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif

When the body is being lowered into the grave It shows you everything you are The feeling is grave And again, it shows you everything you are not   Death is the ultimate It levels the playing field The pen-ultimate Grounding all there is to a halt   Death looms over our heads In time, we will all leave Lowered into the grave, rolling heads Down to a position of no return   Be abreast of life Before you are taken from life  

In many African homes, marriages have broken due to pregnancy and birth issues. Usually, the blame is shoved down the woman’s throat. Either she is unable to conceive or miscarriage has always characterized the aftermath of her conception. It is an unfortunate reality yet many women ignorantly or otherwise continue to indulge in the very factors that catapulted their miscarriage. Miscarriages happen quite often to many women in Ghana. According to a 2017 health data, more than 10% of pregnant women experience miscarriages. One of the foremost causes of miscarriages is alcohol intake during pregnancies – the focus of this essay. The menace also happens due to many other factors like infection, hormonal imbalances, age, uterine abnormalities, etc. There is a strong relationship between alcohol intake while pregnant and miscarriage. In fact, statistics suggest that drinking even small amounts of alcohol while pregnant has a 19% chance of terminating the pregnancy. There is a notio...

Ghana, the doctor of digitalization How your inhabitants are reaping its benefits All the way to suffocation Don’t you feel its fragrance   Oh Ghana, high praise indeed How that has rendered us rancorous Now we’re in need Of the surplus of the perceived generous   Dashing in haze Kneeling at feet in pride Is it just a phase Just like the looks of a bride   Or should we go back to the dark days Far from these ember days  

All I wanted to do was smile Laughter that narrows into a smile How cute it looks on the face Tentatively turning the phase I miss scooping you in my arms Blissful nights burning the city bright Your unbridled laughter rocking my arms I miss us burning bright But here we are, again Seeking the banes of our beams Could this time be a gain Filling us to the brim We could be anything we want But, what do we want?

  I could never sling my shot You were yet a familiar face A birdie I couldn’t shuu So, I maneuvered the phase   Gradually, you metamorphosed Under the wings of love, I arrive You, wielding the wealth to secure my foe I come to you now, heart in hand   Ready to unfold a life of ecstasy Bearing what I could not, before Planting seeds of ecstasy Hoping to foil our foe   Will you yield to what I demand Or is it otherwise you command

You made it seem a crime Meeting you Always trying to charm But no, never impressed you   Nothing that I didn’t try Always a step dirtier Churning out a cry But now, no longer scrappier   A step backwards New veins for fresh love severing ties that draw me backwards And saving ties of newfound love   Maybe, just maybe, true love Can be borne of disgruntled love

Love wasn’t in the air It was in her lungs, my love All I wanted was for her to be my heir Inheriting all my love   One glance And the will was absolute Rushing through my veins But it was still dilute   Due to the embedded thorns She escaped the thrills But I was swimming the thorns Just to share the thrills   When I eventually plucked the rose She’d already hurt her toes                                    Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif

Like the embers She sparkles. Burning her way through glory Her flames, Threatening those who would devour her And welcoming the stars As they twinkle and dance to her tune   She blooms And blossoms Her craft, appealing Yet, thorny   A glance And her glows Are apparent   She who must be obeyed Yet, obstinate   She eats your pride And emits love Fuelling your ego To eternal shame   Her presence Send darkness parking She’d smile, wink And send you parking                             Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif                             ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com

The tallest man on the land leads But his vision is short Cut only to his crowns and clowns How the people of the land must be proud   Building caskets for his departure His plot, they continue to weave Soon, maybe a rapture Still, he continues to wave   Look to your right, to your left, below and above How abundant his actions continue to yield Fruits of his labour hanging above Let all race to the field   To soak themselves in the honey His royal majesty continues to hone                          Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif                          ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com

  Once again, the charcoal seller’s son has been disappointed. His hopes of wearing a white shirt, his symbol of triumph have been trashed. How pathetic though consolatory. The black stars have once again blackened our hearts. Sending disappointing chills down our spines. Pushing the most bitter tablet down our throats. For me, to an extent, this was expected but there was hope. Hope that the players would do all they could to relieve us from the trauma of many years. But as it turns out, they have proven that there is indeed nothing new under the sun. Believe me, some of the players really tried but others were absolute disappointments. Many are happy just because Uruguay is also going home. But just imagine if Uruguay had qualified for the next stage of the world cup competition. Imagine the atmosphere that would have engulfed this country. Imagine the tears in the eyes of Suarez were smiles of victory. We are only basking in the glory of others because it caused the ultima...

I have struggled Hell, I am still struggling So, love hasn’t really been my thing Until I met you   No, you guessed wrong Ha!! I didn’t get a clear look at you But my eyes caught yours Love emanated from that single glance   I don’t know you And me, you know not For me to say I am head over heels in love with you Well, that would be tantamount to treason But I tread, with reason   I won't spoil you with words It’s simple, I like you And I’d like to get to know you If it’s not too much to ask.                      Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif                      ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com

How deep are your scars? Are they scary? Scattered and shuttering Or suturing and searching   My wounds were cut deep So are my scars Maybe yours run deep down your soul But mine run deep past my soul So much so that a simple ‘how are you’ Hurts me deeply   I’ve always wondered whether a ‘how are you’ Is a favour or a fever Either way, it only reminds me of my scars   How I heal after that; Fighting isn’t always the answer Sometimes quieting down And finding other spots Could be liberating   Out of many, one And out of one, many Life isn’t ever straightforward The curves are sometimes as important As the straight road Let the scars carve the curse out                          Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif                          ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com

  You became what I never imagined Leaned forward and started the never imagined   The girl I fell in love with The one I could not resist Featuring in every thought Dancing all the way to the top I thought it would break, the pot   But today, it sits, well adjusted Boundaries breaking Loopholes fastening Connections solidifying   It’s as though nature is keeping us for an appointed time To unite us for a blissful journey in time The signs, somewhat benign Though sometimes seems otherwise Are still actively annihilating All obstacles in the path to our shine   You have turned a new age And we have turned a new page Not of pain but of love and friendship   To us growing in love and friendship Wealth and Health Faith and Fruits Happy Belated Birthday I love you.                          Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif         ...

  A drop Second drop And a third   My chest began to wet As the heaviness in it Melted through my eyes The pains had reached its limit It just had to meander its way out   Right in the middle of the street I had to relieve myself From the shelf of sheer pain Though preposterous It wasn’t on purpose   For what looked like a century to me It may have seemed like a split second to you The tears may have been sudden But like success, it wasn’t sudden   He couldn’t help it Because it hurts In ways unimaginable   You bear pain But you can’t sense pain So the need to discuss it Voids that   Let the tears wash away the pain To the plains                       Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif                        ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com

  Tiptoed to the door On arrival, felt raw The nakedness left me wretched Though I felt rescued   Love comes in different phases Though it wears one face The butcher of loneliness The arbiter of always and forever And yet it can be daunting To a point of succumbing   Heartbreak doesn’t negate love It reinforces it It leaves room for unfiltered love In ways only pain can sustain it   Oh! There is pain in your heart? Sorry That’s your storm Making way for the warmth   With all the cracks in your heart You will recover And you will love again Like never before   You know why? Because when we truly love We love with our souls Not just our hearts                                                   Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif                 ...

  Unending woes Woven into wonderful smiles But the world never paused to wonder   Gradually, he withered away All the while smiling Driven into visible oblivion   Many passed but no one looked Admiration and apprehension can be confusing The banks of the river looked confounding But the trepidation in his eyes Well, you couldn’t fathom   He waited and hoped that someone Would stop and ask At least, ask But no one did   As he watched his image float in the water He imagined his soul leaving his body Maybe there is peace in that   He wanted to live But what is the point of it all? The pain had become unbearable And no one to share it with.   He let go as the last splinter of hope left his body His body floating And neighbors wailing   If only someone had asked Maybe, just maybe, things would’ve turned out differently   NOTE Talk to the people around you Let them know the...

'It was fun meeting you But I gotta go now Keep in mind, you may not see me again Or if Allah wills, we’ll meet again Asalaam Alaikum'   I imagine that’s how our goodbyes with Ramadan sounds We don’t like to think about it but it counts Because just like any other thing in time There is no guarantee of a next time   In chapter two of the Wise Quran Allah tells us of the real deal of Ramadan A reminder of the fear of Allah, Ramadan Just think about it   The fear of Allah is of two folds; Leaving what’s prohibited and enjoining what is required Simply, the fear of Allah is just abiding by His legislation.   There is food and water but you leave them for the sake of Allah, Ramadan Those prohibited relationships are halted for the sake of Allah, Ramadan Abusive words are stripped of our mouths for the sake of Allah, Ramadan See, Ramadan is when all goodness is returned to our bodies, and all evil is relegated to nothingness. ...

Every room holds secrets Secrets that can destroy So when the door is breached A skin falls and another builds   A wall comes up When steps are taken For judgment sits keen Ready to strike the candid   The friends we keep The people we dodge And the ones we hug What is this thing about the people we think we can embrace without any questions? Without any walls   Sometimes trust can create magic Magic that can fluid your life Other times, it’s toxic   You have your secrets And I have mine Our doors may not be the same But they hold us well                          Yussif Ahmed Ibn Yussif                          ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com

Like the ice breaks So does the heart But the mind makes it resilient Something the ice lacks   For so long, you held my heart Like the mountains hold the earth without fail Never moving an inch Always a whisper away   You gave me love And I laughed You smiled and tripped But stayed and never strayed   Your love runs in my veins. On days when I miss you most It clots Attempting to suffocate me A little reminder of how much love I deserve Even from a distant figure of unfading memories   Inevitably, time and land Widened the gap between us Disintegrating our unripe love In those moments of space Without your presence Talk without your response Pain without your comfort I was forced to love myself The way you loved me   Even now, here and now Your love fills a void But it also creates another one An even bigger one Because, for you, leaving is inevitable, Sadly.         ...

When we first spoke I felt seen In ways  never before So I kept looking for more of me In your eyes   The feeling was unnatural to me To feel lost and ominous for so long And out of nowhere, a reflector shows up Showing you not just your scars But your perfections too   New understanding surfaces Curing all that blotted out all goodness Darkness into light Sunshine in the night Up and bright   To be perfect is not to be spotless To be perfect is to embrace the scars And flaunt them Till the scars become scary To the scoundrel   You see me And I see me New day