The Arts-Muse Fair

                            Three-Legged Sprinting  It isn’t so much that she adores him and wants to move in with him that keep me sleepless at night as the image of them trudging upstairs hand-in-hand in a sort of three-legged sprinting. I only have to shut my eyes and he is holding her by the waist, urging her towards the bed. He has left the door ajar, but I can’t quite see what’s going on, only peeps once in a while: the tattoo on her leg, the sweat on her glistening back. I want to turn away, but the horror of her orgasm throttles in my throat, the shock of her tongue flaunting with his tongue, her mumbling sweet nonsense, her letting out a monstrous moan.  Fraulein of Coy She must think me maverick teasing my rod against  her hands of ejection she giggles perhaps  behind my slack before the next smack  certain in her confidence...

 by Paul Liam Nasiba Babale’s emergence on the poetry literary scene is not by accident, she has in the last decade remained a constant voice strutting the digital space with her whimsical poetry.  Before the publication of her debut collection, she had already established an impressionable reputation as an emerging poet of significant talent. She writes with the consciousness of a bard who is aware of the shuddering threats to humanity's collective future and prosperity. Born and raised in the ancient city of Kano, and trained as a medical lab scientist at the Bayero University, Kano, Babale is a literary administrator and brain behind the first Kano International Poetry Festival in northern Nigeria held in July 2024 at the BUK. The festival reinforced Kano’s leading role as the epicenter of world knowledge production and Hausa civilization.  Recently, in 2024, Konya Shamsurumi published Babale's debut collection of poetry, Pickled Moments to critical acclaim. The collec...

  Just For Words Arts Initiative invites spoken word poets all over Nigeria to participate in the Minna Poetry Slam 2021 and win N50,000 in cash prize.   Minna Poetry Slam 2021 consists of three rounds covering three themes. Participants will be eliminated from each round up until the final round, where the judges will pick a winner for the prize. Each participant is expected to have poems for each round. The poems must be written and performed by the original author. THEMES AND TIME LIMITS Round 1: Rape — 1 minute Round 2: Violence — 2 minutes Round 3: Mental Health — 3 minutes There are only 20 slots for participants this year. Apply now and get shortlisted. Registration for the slam is for a fee of N1,000. Payment confirms registration. Minna Poetry Slam 2021 will be judged by a panel of individual judges. For participation, send a message via any of our social media handles, email or the WhatsApp numbers below, with your full name and formal intention...

  T R A V E L L E R S What if There were no canons?  Never were there; countries  What if there were never wars?  And one another, we genuinely adored    What if There were no plagues?  There were no flags  There were no regions  There was no hatred  Eating deep into our hearts?    What if Between us, there were no oceans There were no seas And the humanity within us  Is all that we see?    What if There were no colours Neither white nor black  And love was the only feeling  That took us all aback?    What if We are here for a while And only the smile on our lips And the joy in our chests Can take us far miles?    What if Just what if We are all travellers Sojourning to a place  We know not a thing about?    ************ Shehu Mubarak Sulaiman is a Kano-based poet. Currently a final year studen...