Love, Suicide, and Homelessness

Has love been blood-written
has marrow yet
been poured for it
a person peeled
the skin from their back or ribs
has expression of this
been offered in flesh
cut from the cheeks
has blood extracted
its colour still red
uncoagulated
been scooped from the arteries
poured into a milk vessel
have two people offered it
one to the other
as they would fresh milk…

The extract above is from Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame ‘Hadraawi’s poem “Has Love Been Blood-written”. The poem was inspired by the story of a young man who fell in love with a singer, and because he could not access her, he took a syringe used it to extract his blood and wrote a letter to her with his blood.We all have different interpretations of love. It has led to so many happily ever after stories and so many disastrous graveyard stories.

 Love is good, love is awesome, love is beautiful, love brings you out of loneliness and the likes. A lot of things have been said about love, but to me, love is what you think it is. It’s what you expect from it, and it is what you experience it as.

Many tend to forget that love can be mixed with negative emotions like anger, worry, jealousy, strife and hatred. Yesterday, as I was preparing for work, I listened to the early morning newspaper review on radio. Then, I heard that a nineteen-year-old girl committed suicide because her boyfriend jilted her and that the story is on the Nation Newspaper.

I felt a sharp pain in my body as I remembered a love story that I witnessed four years ago. I stayed at Isolo Lagos, as a Unilag’s undergraduate. I go home from my hostel at Yaba every weekend. Thus, I get to know a lot of things happening around.

My house at Isolo is close to Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo campus. So I got to know a lot of Polytechnic students, who stayed around my house. But there was something distinct about Kola and Majeedat. They were in love. So much in love, that their relationship was public. Everyone knew they were dating. I have seen them about three times outside their one-room apartment romancing each other.

ALSO READ: When Your Girlfriend is your Next Door Neighbour

At those times, I felt a strong sensation within me and wished I had a boyfriend. I thought they were good role models who were proud of each other even in public. Maybe I got the wrong picture. I didn’t know that I was wrong until the worse happened…

Watch out for part 2!!!