Once,
Father travelled outside the country [again].
When he returned, he bought two flutes─yellow and green─ for my
Sickly siblings. When they went to p
r
a
y,
Children from the church laughed at their big bellies
And their local flutes and protruding teeth
But my siblings didn’t care. They played on still.
Once,
My sickly sister went for a camp.
Children from the church laughed at her
Big belly and yellow eyes,
“She looks like a snake!” they said.
Once I die,
I won’t hear these stories [again].
by Shalom Kasim
Shalom Kasim grew up in Gombe, Nigeria. His works have appeared in various publications. He won the 2019 NSPP Excellence Award for his poem, Bury The Country. He is best known for his short story, Hadiza. Kasim is Editor in Chief of Insights: a Magazine of English and Literary Studies, Federal University, Wukari, Nigeria. He is also the contributing prose editor at Eboquills.
Aayo Magazine 