Alimat O. Abdulkareem

The day came when the clocks still breathed.
In the passing of events did my soul get sheathed.
Mouths kept circling faithful paths I had wandered past,
Leaving me with no choice but to live in the blast.

On the day clocks still tick, came an hour put on hold.
Movements stopped and my hands went numb and cold.
In split seconds, stories I’ve led rolled on like dreams.
I was still in this world… Or so it seems.

The day came when clocks still breathed, yet
The seconds it counted had mine excluded.
Time got me dismissed without a heads-up.
Breathed my last, the next belonging to my Lord.

That day when stars still shone and heavens still watched,
People’s eyes got blurry while my soul was summoned.
“Come out like a drop of water would from a waterskin.”
In between helplessness and regret began another journey.

A few hours before the moment time stopped for me,
I wondered what names the angels would call me if
My Lord has not showered me with His Mercy.
Would it have been “O good soul” or “O wicked soul”?

Like on a map I searched for the little charity I could do.
Then, to the sins I thought were minute and few.
They had gathered as high as mountains and vast as the ocean.
Can one ever be too generous with things that will soon accuse one?

On the day time still counted, but mine was stopped.
Had my Lord left me only to what I had earned,
My soul would’ve been in despair at its own name.
Beyond the irrevocable, I still swam in the mercy of my Lord.

I hope this piece of art has found your heart.
If it does, please relay no praise to the poet.

Rather, prepare your soul for that day when time will stop without seeking permission.

Do not procrastinate waiting for when silence writes the sermon you refused to yield to.

I would close my shroud by saying:

A word of the wise is enough for the living.