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Abdul-Qaadir Bakari-Muhammad

The February Featured Poet is Abdul-Qaadir Bakari-Muhammad

Please feel free to email Abdul-Qaadir at: bakari1992@gmail.com

Abdul

THE USHERS

They sat on a pier by a lake;
Killed so many whether they were asleep or awake. 
Most of their victims now resided beneath this lake. 
Their weapons of choice were knives, scissors, and poison dates. 

First it was the babysitter their parents decided to hire. 
To make a long story short the morning newspaper reported accidental fire. 
They smiled as if living high off the hog,
Woof-woof also went their pet dog. 
Their second act of kindness came in the form of Granny Mable. 
To them she was too hard to please. 
Confined to a wheelchair,
Alzheimer’s was her disease. 
She often fed them some of their favorite foods.
This consisted of grapes and pieces of sliced green pears. 
To repay her love, they took those scissors and cut off all of her hair,
but it did not stop there. 
Clip-clip went her sagging breast
Then they carved the word bye in the middle of her chest. 

Yet, they still weren’t done. 
They just refused to rest. 
As a test to make sure she was dead they felt compelled to cut off her head. 
As it rolled to the front of the bed they simply marveled at their very own Mrs. Potato Head. 
Then with a grin they whistled “the wicked witch is dead.” 
Oh their hearts were filled with joy. 
They marveled at their creativity; a homemade toy. 
This made them rejoice.
So they danced to the sound of a serenade. 
This was in celebration to the mess that they had made. 
Sure enough they had done a good deed. 
They had caused a loved one to bleed. 

Drowned in the stench of murder, they continued to move across the floor. 
It was then they heard not the knock on the door. 
When they finally did hear it, it was their friend Mary. 
With blood dripping from their face,
“Boo!” they yelled. “Don’t we look scary?” 
Before she could answer out of nowhere she heard a faint voice whisper, “Run!” 
Too late for her; they wanted to have some more fun. 
Slimy, red-coated hands were placed over her eyes.
They slammed the door shut and asked,
“Are you ready for the big surprise?”
Before she could answer she felt a cold puncture rip open her eye.
Mary’s knees immediately gave away.
The fact that she was in tremendous pain simply made their day.

On the floor her head jerked and shook. 
She knew not how much more pain, she could take.
At the wonderment of her sorrow they prayed for her soul to bake.
She eventually passed out and awoke next to the lake. 
The time was near, which caused them to sneer.

Nevertheless, it was time for her big surprise.
A look over their shoulder halted the sunrise.
Now to Mary they exposed their heart and day became night.
To show her power, she healed her sight.
The reflection in their eyes resembled the moon.
Now there were three circles the color of maroon,

And we spoke to Mary:

“Do you now see that good, man, and evil are all on a relative plane?
From Day One, to your Son, they just repeated the same.
To them they prefer agony as a game.
The polar opposites spoke to us of a solution.
We told them both that humanity is nothing but pollution.
Several chances and extensions were given.
Just like we thought it was chaos that made man driven.
We chose this lake by no real means.
A symbolic gesture only to be understood by the wise, the truly anointed, and the keen.
The deaths that lie here tragedy it is not.
It was just flesh both good and evil agreed to let rot.
This is it dear love.
Turn back to your true essence thou glorious dove.”

The symbol of peace flies away with the wind,
And those who felt it were without sin.

Now finally we the Ushers can prepare people for the end.

Abdul-Qaadir Taariq Bakari-Muhammad was born, raised and currently resides in southeastern Virginia. To the locals, the area is better known as Hampton Roads.

He is a writer and college graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Norfolk State University. His passion for writing began in high school where he was always performing research for various subjects and reporting what he found. He writes erotica, poetry, speculative, and historical fiction. His work has appeared in Zane Chocolate Flava 3 Z-Rated and Corset Magazine (Man vs Machine: The Sex Toy Issue). He and his wife have three beautiful children.

He blogs HERE at and can be reached on Facebook HERE