Poem: Bayajidda by Ridwan Badamasi

Bayajidda

As a child, despite an earful of warning, 
I’d be found with my arms splayed 
out into the mouth of the well, my heart pounding
on the ledge, part thrill, part fear; lost
in the dank, dark drop, the scattering
of moss running down into the ancient secrets 
of its unfathomable depth, and the rippling 
slice of sky after the crash of the bucket. The air 
would ring with the wail of mosquitoes
 and the chirp of crickets, an absurd duet.

It is this lightness of being flushed with the blood
of the moment that Bayajidda must have felt when, 
with one great heave, he struck the serpent’s head clean 
off of its neck as it reared up, in faraway Daura.


Bio: Ridwan Badamasi writes from the ancient city of Kano in northern Nigeria. He is a Biochemistry undergrad in Bayero University. His works have appeared in Praxis Magazine, Konya Shamsrumi, Salamander Ink Mag. and elsewhere. You can find him on Instagram: @ridhwanbadamasi