Dear Wanderer ~ 1 Dear Wanderer , It’s been a very long time, hasn’t it? I miss you and the res
t of the Wanderers. Hope you’re fighting fit. Mr. Wanderer, life is struggle and toil. Dear wanderer , I’ve lived through dozens of twists and turns in your departure. I’m confident they’ll ask you many a question about me. Dear Wanderer, tell them I’m not a writer. If they ask you about poetry, tell them I’m neither Shakespeare nor Imru’ul Qais of Arabture. Tell them I’m neither a short story writer, nor a novelist. Tell them I’m but a tiny little human whose hunger for wit and wisdom transcends their thoughts . Tell them I’m also a traveler, I abide here temporarily. Dear Wanderer, I’ve gone through sheadloads of experiences in life. I’ve seen the movies of horrors and hoorays. Tell them how things metamorphose into tragi-comedy. Dear Wanderer, if they ask you about the nature of man, tell them I’m ignorant of his whole desires. But I know a good deal of his injustices and prejudices. I know about man’s discrimination, intolerance, bigotry, racism, sexism, Islam phobia and ageism. Dear Wanderer, I’ve learnt from man’s nature a great deal of blindness in getting whatever he adores and lionises. Tell them about the tyrannies of man. Recite them those stanzas: O you irritable world! O the extremism of globe! When will you heal my wound? Where shall I abide? You override my talks and walks In hut or humble abode? My hopes shattered and those of folks! When my clothes you disrobe! You dug a hole in my heart. Tormented my rare gut. Massacred those innocent, Under the guise of the Shiny Art. But don’t tell them that I’m a poet, and don’t tell them about the collection I compose. Never recount what happened to Qais, Lubna and the rest. Do tell them about words of resourcefulness , wisdom and wit. Tell them about my world where I reside , but never tell them about my humble abode. Dear wanderer, if they ask you about feminism, tell them, if feminism means giving sound lives to women, I’m more feminist than Sa’adawi and Chimamanda. If feminism means lionising women and showing them sympathy, empathy, support and intimacy, tell them I overstep the boundaries. Please Wanderer tell them, if patriarchy means that strictness in the issues touching women, tell them I’m at loggerheads with it. Tell them if it suggests denying their leeway when it comes to their choices of their better halves, tell them I’ll die as a martyr in their illusions. Tell them about the teachings of the Spectacular Path of Peace towards women. Dear Wanderer, prove to them If patriarchy denotes overriding their legitimate viewpoints, tell them that’s what I loathe to the core . Elucidate to them, I’ve the bravery of Antara, the heart of Bayajidda and the unconditional love of Laila Majnoon. There I stand giving them shelter. But never tell them that I’m a hero. Dear wanderer, they will ask you about my love stories , so recite them what Abu Shamaqmakin lamented in his verses : ما عذر من يشكو الجوى لمن جفا # وهو لدمع جفنه لم يرق Recite them this touching verse indeed : يوم اشتكي كل بما في قلبه # لحبه بطرفه بما لقي Paraphrase these lines of Ibnul Wannan: آه علي ذكر ليال سلفت # لي معها كالبارق الموتلقي كم أودعت في مقلتي من سهر # واضرمت في مهجتي من حرق قي معهد كنا به كنخلتي # حلوان في وصل بلا تفرق Recount the story of Za’ina’s minder : فإنني أشجع من ربيعة # حمي الظعينة لدى وقت اللق Dear Wanderer, love is an enigma. Vindicate to them, it takes a minute to have a crush on someone, a second to love someone , but it takes a lifetime to erase someone from your thoughts. Nostalgic are those agonizing feelings about that unexpected departure. Tell them I’m quit of that madrasa , going back to my alma mater, where I find solace I feel better, for I’m tired of its Gadrasa. But never tell them my nostalgic anecdotes. Just tell them I’m a Wanderer too. Dear Wanderer, touching the characters I like, tell them I’m not as racist as Marlo of Heart of Darkness. I love the seismic treatment of Jane’s father of Sons and Lovers. I cherish the bravery of Paul. But , their mater’s proclivity isn’t my taste. But tell them I was taken aback by Kafka’s, the Metamorphosis. Regarding language, I so much hanker for the successive use of adjectives in Conrad’s. The simplicity of language in the rest two narratives takes my breath away. Dear Wanderer, tell them about the oratory of the late Yusufu, the Dan-Masanin Kano. Tell them we still miss his inspirational words. Tell them about the deterioration of the dirty game. Tell them the heads here disqualify their reigns. I’ve deciphered much about their selfishness and intolerance. I’m sated with their witty adages which sound highfalutin. Please Wanderer, tell them they still kidnap for their thrones. They massacre and turn deaf ears to wailings and pleas of their builders ! But my phrasing about the silent equalizer tell them Wanderer, till we meet in the next missive. Yours , Abdurabbihi 29th /09/ 2018
