ABDULAZEEZ SHOMADE 
a strange sound scoots into my room
shakes my dreamy bed. my eyes
twinkles before going back to sleep.
again, the sound strikes. this time
i’m half-awake struggling to part ways
with my dream. i’d been dreaming of
calling my lost friends as i roam around
a nameless city painted in muddy brown.
he accused me of forgetting him like a
new word learnt in the first chapter of a
novel after flipping through several other
chapters. i was going to ask where he was
when silence took over the call from the
other end. i rode on till I got to a place i’d
dreamt of before. I paused and the old
dream began to replay itself. stuck with
luscious lights on the old dream, i forgot
that my journey through the mud-coated
city was but for a quick while. old dreams
are like rear mirrors; you only steal a peek
at them while driving. the sound hits again
harder on my eardrums like the hands
of the bàtá drummer. it’s the third
cockcrow summoning me into a
new day
ABDULAZEEZ SHOMADE
is a literary enthusiast and budding creative writer. A graduate of the Department of History and International Studies from the Lagos State University, Abdulazeez explores different kinds of styles in poetry, fiction and essays. He has a knack for narrative writing and extended referencing. He made his debut feature in the Journal of African Haiku Network “The Mamba” issue 8. He was awarded the Flash Fiction Writer of the Year 2019 by The Everyday Chapter. He writes often in the English language and seldom in Yoruba.