Maroua the Martyr [A Poem]

By Dibussi Tande

Beautiful offspring of the Sahel
Land of shifting sands and shaded streets
Land of Bilbil, Couscous and Folléré
Land of overflowing hospitality
Maroua the beautiful
Boko Haram’s unwilling lover…

We hear your cries of distress
Echoing across the Mandara mountains
We see your tears of desperation
Flowing down the Mayo Kaliao river
We hear your howls of anguish
Thundering down Mount Maroua
We shudder at the woeful wails
Of your hapless children
As your leaves turn into petals of blood

But do not despair
Cherished child of the Diamare!
From your toil and tears
Shall sprout your freedoms lost
Your broken heart shall mend
Your gentle soul shall heal
And your ghastly scars shall fade
Like a thief in the night

And throughout the ages
The story shall be told
All across this parched
And picturesque land
Of a proud and resilient people
Who rose from the depths of helplessness
To stand tall once again
Like the unbendable Mindif mountain

*Image by @charleyeff591 via Instagram

Comments

[Canute Tangwa]

Dibussi you jolted me with those powerful lines. Then I began writing:

Maroua o Maroua

your pain no tongue can tell
your anguish no heart can feel

Maroua o Maroua

beside marché central we sat and wept
remembering our loved lost ones
beside pont vertwe stood and shook our heads
remembering the dead
.... to be continued

[Nsah Mala]

Hello Mr Tande,

This is a great tribute poem and it really wipes our tears from the wailing provoked by these beasts of Shekau.

I enjoyed your style.

Nsah Mala

[dibussi]

Canute, glad to see the ink still flows! Looking forward to the continuation.

Nsah, glad you liked it!

[Eunice Ngongkum]

Dibussi,thanks for this meaningful dirge that sings our collective sorrow.

[mbuh tennu]

Dibussi, I returned from Maroua (after a conference) just a day before the first suicide coward scarred the land which I had admired and hailed in a poem (after my maiden trip there) as "future spot of dreams". And to imagine a cowardly ideology, preying on and exploiting children against the indescribable beauty of the land! I feel your pain and frustration, but above all, share the hope...

[GEF]

Touching piece of poetry. Maroua in our hearts, Maroua on our minds

[Don Julio Bats]

Mola... you touched several nerves with this poem. It's not only heartfelt; it's true and shared emotion. Something in me says, "No! Not Maroua!" Why they did that to the a city so peaceful under normal circumstances is something I refuse to comprehend and forgive. Maroua will be the beginning of the destruction of these cowards!

[Mola NJOH LITUMBE]

Javea, I greatly admire your poetrical presentation reflecting Maroua's sad tragedy. This, I venture to predict, may well gather momentum if Cameroon fails to embrace dialogue in seeking to correct transparent problems facing the country. The time to do so is now!