Mostafa Ahmed
2 Poems
The Great Little
Make America Great
Make America Great!
But there’s no great
without little.
I am little. America
made me little
Inside little. Outside little.
It made my world
little. It took little, then little,
then little and left me
with so little,
then undressed me
from the left little and covered me
with little. Too little
that is not enough to cover
even my little. I am Mr. Little
living in a little earning
a little and learning a little
Everyone calls me little
since THAT what makes them great,
calling me little. Zoom out
a little, a little bit more
can you see now? We are all little
Even the GREAT is little
Zoom in now
a little bit more I am no more
little. So when you see me little
it’s only because. you see little
Let the World End
I need to think
I need to reason
to find the real me
trapped in me
caged by iron ribs
disturbed by loud heartbeats
distracted by all the voices in my head.
I need to ponder the whims, desires and peculiarities within
I find a beast fighting to be unleashed
a dove roaming around in my head
a flowing waterfall of love descending in my veins
fragmented splinters of pain lacerating my flesh
an evil spirit devouring my soul
an enemy sheltering in my figure
firing at the closest to me using the gun in my mouth
using vulgarity that my conscious disdains
a naive child fooling around causing me embarrassment
a righteous Sheikh sermonizing a frivolous sinner
a great dictator struggling to suppress
met with a rebellion from anarchic revolutionaries
all me, all in one body
An Armageddon erupts between all the me(s)
swords clanking, horses neighing, and a continuous wail of pain never halts
arrows pouring down like rain thrusting soldiers on the ground
a knight slaughters another at the end of a cutlass
with a scimitar another penetrates an abdomen
and drags the intestines throwing them in the air
a cavalier with a flail plucks the pumping part of a brave soldier
soldiers die and others survive
in a battle that will only end
when the whole world ceases to exist.
Mostafa Ahmed is a Fulbright scholar. He came to the US in 2016. He graduated with his MA in English from Emporia State University in May 2018. Mostafa has had several poems published in Quivira 2016 and 2017. His most recent work is coming out soon in Flint Hills Review. Mostafa works as an English teacher and a writing tutor.