I am like water:
I am tender, yet bold
Your thought is my container
How much of me can it hold?
Do not underestimate me;
enlarge the container
For I am a mystery yet untold.

I am like water:
I take the shape of your container
Your thought is that container
I am to you as you think of me
Look into me; I am a reflection of yourself.

I am like water:
I go to where I flow
And I flow to where I go
And I'll always find a path to follow.

I am like water:
I cannot be understood
For I am beyond your horizon
Shapen the container as you like,
it will never form the true shape of me
My true self is free — it cannot be contained.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK

Do not try to look at me
— I am in a mantle —
I cannot be seen.

Do not try to call me
I will not answer
For I do not want to utter a word
— I want to listen in silence —
For I am in the company of the essence.

Do not try to understand
For I, myself, do not understand.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

[JIBRIL ABDULMALIK]
I cannot find any masterpiece
How then do I plan?
There are no shoulders on which to stand
Shoulders of any giant of great stance
How then do I view the remaining journey?
How do I understand?
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

[EDINO ABIGAEL]
You might feel like a pirate
whose masterpiece Is lost between waves and tides,
But, look In the mirror
Who you see Is the master's piece.
This Is the greatest conviction.
Those great giants you look up to,
Are now like Goliath,
Lying helpless down your feet,
Let this be the hope you seek.

[JIBRIL ABDULMALIK]
The path I seek does not seek me in return
The one I love never loved me — I was just taken for fun.
Should I think less of my so called friends or should I say much of them?
They only show up whenever I find a gem
Shouldn't I say less of my very own?
Whom I danced to his great plans — plans for me alone
Great plans for the tomorrow that is never known
Only to find he never had a plan, not even of his own
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

[EDINO ABIGAEL]
You are at a crossroad,
All path seems right.
But, right In you,
Is a Great compass
Leading away from doom.
Trace your steps one, two,
Deep within the bed of your shattered heart,
Sleeps the hope you seek!

JIBRIL ABDULMALIK AND EDINO ABIGAEL ©2019

There is a secret;
The Secret of secrets
Beyond the imagination of our impure selves
There, lies all my unknown self
For I am a mystery yet untold.

Here, I am
But seen to be there.
There, was I
But not seen nor heard.

I was looked at, but not seen
I did not speak, but I was heard
I was not looked at, but I was seen
I was not heard, but I was listened to

This shadow is not mine but this body's
For I am not this body but this soul

—Jibril Abdulmalik ©2019

Dear Mother Earth,

Please forgive me, for I am of those who have wronged.
I do not know where I am, but I do know for sure that I am lost.

My eyes and feet are swollen, and my voice is fade.
For I have prayed and prayed, that I cannot find a word left unsaid.
And I have paid and paid, that I do not know what price is left unpaid.

I am working, but nothing else is.
Everything else is walking, but I am still.
I have cried and cried, that my tears are drowning me.
I am but a child, please forgive me.

It is dark here, please tell my star to shine its light,
For I do not know if to turn back, left or right.
I am confused and lost, tell me what more I am to sacrifice.

There are too many doors, give me just one blessed key.
For I feel trapped, and do not know of any truth that can set me free.

I still believe all things shall pass away, but I fear my faith might sway.
Please show me just a way, for my hair is turning grey.

Your confused child.

My dearest
My beloved
Rose of flowers
Peacock of birds
Diamond of gemstones
Sirius of stars
You are all of those and I am the lover.

I am the kite
and you are the string
You are my star
and you are the blink
I am the sky
and you are the ring
I am the flight
and you are the wings
I am the lover
and you are the beloved

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

When I begin writing a poem,
the tears, blood and sweat of  the innocent become my ink
and the bones become my pen.

When I begin writing a poem,
the voiceless become my thoughts and I become the words of the voiceless.

When I begin writing a poem,
I only stop when I find no more pen,
for the bones are gone to the soil ben
And when there's no more ink,
for the tears, blood and sweat are dried up when there's no more heat

When I begin writing a poem,
beyond myself do I think,
till every line makes a sense
and the message is clear and felt.

By Jibril Abdulmalik ©2019

Life's most precious gift:
To live, we have to just breathe
But there're thoughts beyond thoughts,
Trapped in a realm, yearning to be freed:
If we hold this breathe seize,
We shall seize to live, but leave
But sometimes, to actually live, we have to leave

There's a thin line between sanity and insanity
Erased by our unsay
There's a thin line between Illusion and reality
Erased by our don'ts

This place of gracious enticement
Where we watch us being killed
A place filled with men of slightest thoughts
Amused by this illusional amusement
A place where nothing is real
Full of dos and don'ts, yet no one is free

Though we all came with says and dos
We've not by ourselves chosen to be free
We've trapped all those for the sake of our creed

Why then not hold this breathe seize to actually live
For stance where our thoughts could not reach
For life in a place we've never seen
A place where we're actually free
Why don't we leave to actually live?

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

Do not go far to listen to the praises of my heart
Listen to your heart
— the praises come from there —
I am there.

Do not go far by your actions to call me to yourself
Come closer
I am not far from you
By your voice, I shall hear.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

Cast not your glance on the beauty of the stars
Look here at this eyes, they are the beauty of the galaxy.

Kiss not these lips and render them speechless,
for they mayn't know to sing the songs of your heart and soul

Whisper not in this ears, but to this heart,
For this ears mayn't bear the weight of your words

Look beyond the pale,
Look not for gold, but this soul
For it sings praises of you

Love not this body nor this heart, it is but dust
Love this soul with all your soul
It is not me nor you, it is us.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

We've walked too far to look back.
If we look back,
we'd think we've walked too far
from where we are coming from
and too close to where we are heading to.
But If we look forward,
we'd realize we've walked far
from where we're coming from,
but far from where we want to be.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

To define a woman,
it needs more than just words
For their true nature is beyond thoughts
So, a woman is more than just who or what.

If through a woman was everyone brought
So not to say naught,
Till we forever find a better word
for now,
A woman is synonymous with the word "world"

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

When I stare or listen,
my thoughts do same
And I'm left speechless.
So what do I say
when my thoughts stare or listen?
What do I say
when I cannot think?

You are trapped within my thoughts for aye
I'm in love with you,
not your body
For you are not the body,
but the soul.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

I cannot find any masterpiece
How then do I plan?
There are no shoulders on which to stand
Shoulders of any giant of great stance
How then do I view the remaining journey?
How do I understand?
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

The one I love does not love me in return
All along, I was waiting for a train at the bus stop
I was played — taken for fun
Can the heart still beat after it has been torn?
When will I stop hearing the 'pii pii pii' or 'puun puun puun' ?
When will I ever hear the train horn?
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

I walked with my greatest companion — my thought
Much was I shown
Even beyond what I seek, in gracious colours
Only to reach the journey end to be betrayed by my own thoughts;
What I seek, never sought me
Tell me, of what difference am I from a soldier who trained forever, only to meet his end in just a day, at the battle front?
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

Should I think less of my so called friends
or should I say much of them?
They only show up whenever I find a gem
They deliver panegyric when things are right
And they come by day to leave at night

Shouldn't I sink in thoughts of my home sweet home?
Shouldn't I say less of my very own?
Whom I danced to his great plans — plans for me alone
Great plans for the tomorrow that is never known
Only to find he never had a plan, not even of his own
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

Who should I run to?
Where do I go from here?
Please teach me how to stop thinking
So I may conquer my fear
For I've sought far and near
I've written to many eyes and sang to many ears
I've cried out my heart, but no one seems to care
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

Which leader would you refer me to?
Is it the one who preaches only what the people want to hear
Or the one who looks at evil and pretend not to see due to fear?
Is it the one who says what the heart cannot bear
Or the one who preaches, but does not want to be dared?
Tell me, is there still hope for me?

I am here
all alone
You may not understand me
that, I know
You are not under this tree
How then will you know the nature of its shade?

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK

Do not try to be beautiful
You are beauty itself
Why try to be what you already are?

Set not your body on fire.
It will surely burn to ash
Ignite your soul.
Light up your path,
That others may follow
For you are not this body,
but that soul.

Embellish your heart and soul
Love not your body with all your soul,
but your soul with all your body
For you are not this body,
but that soul.

Cast not your glance on the beauty of the stars
Seek your soul.
It is your true self.
It is the beauty of the galaxy

Look beyond the pale,
Look not for gold,
but yourself.
You are most valuable to your possessor.
For you are not this body, but that soul.

— JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

We are not all privileged to find shoulders on which to stand
To have a better view of the remaining journey
Shoulders of giants of great stance.

We are not all blessed with masterpieces from which to extract our plans.

We are not all blessed with pleasant sounds
Sounds to which we can dance.

We are not all smiled upon by nature
Some people don't even get a glance.

We are not all blessed with good family and friends
Some don't even cross paths
We are not all given such chance.

We may all be blessed with knowledge
But not everyone understands.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

Through your eyes,
I see what lies in your heart
Through your silence,
I hear your voice
Through your voice,
I hear your silence
I do not know if all these through  are true
But I know what to believe,
and that is only what is from you.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

Do not think you can ever be greater than you think;
You can never be.
You can only be as great as you think.

You are only as great as you think.
Think beyond that,
And you shall be greater.

Your thoughts are your limitations.
Think beyond yourself.
Think through the heart of men.
Think beyond thoughts.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019

I forgot myself in your smile.
Never stop smiling,
that I might find myself.

I forgot hate in loving you
Lock the doors,
that I might not find what I've forgotten.

I forgot my learning
trying to know you,
now I've become learned.

I forgot my ways
trying to know your ways
Show me all your ways,
that i might find my ways.

I forgot my speech in your voice
Do not stop talking,
that I might find what to say.

I forgot my thoughts in thoughts of you
And in that, have I written what I found
trying to find my thoughts.

—JIBRIL ABDULMALIK ©2019