One for the names forgotten
Two for the child hiding in my sleep
Three for the deafening sounds of guns and bombs
Four for the promise I never had the chance to keep.
Five for not having the chance to say goodbye
Six for rooms we were denied access—
Seven for the names I count twice
Eight for the names that respond in silence,
Nine for the silence wrapped in anguish
Ten for the living, missing and departed
One for the names forgotten
Two for the child hiding in my sleep
About the author:
Abraham Kedong Ali is an emerging poet from Atyap land in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. He holds an MA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Jos and is currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he works as a teaching assistant. He is the recipient of the Vreeland Graduate Award for Poetry. His work explores memory, displacement, family, conflict, and resilience, with a particular interest in absence and silence. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ultramarine Literary Review, Gently Mad Literary Magazine, Isele Magazine, The Shallow Tales Review, and several anthologies.