MARIAM ALAYANDE

         Silence, serenity, peace, death, love, family, friendship- one giant globe yet the darkness fills the bosom of the light, blinding us from everything we can see and what we can feel.     Jaiye was never the quiet one, but rather energetic and extroverted. He made whichever room he entered shake from the foundation to the roof, igniting the stars all around the room and immersing the air in pure beautiful energy. His smile- radiant and his voice- seductive.       Jaiye and I had been together for 6months, yet I knew more about my 3 puppies than I did about him. I assumed he was one to take his time to come out of his shell, but was I wrong? I caught glimpses of his sore eyes as he jumped around telling us in his ecstatic voice, ‘Jaiye means ‘enjoy life’, and that’s exactly what I do!’        Sometimes, I felt his cold heart reach out to me but he said I was wrong, he used the same line eve...

        The world we live in is  ugly,  before you disagree, I ask that you think outside of yourself .   From the denial of freedom to the bullets coated in snow, making poker dots on men coated in charcoal, toddlers and teenagers wearing bullet-proof jackets as their school uniforms. From the moment the nurturers and backbone of human race refused to kiss the boots of the nurtured; a sword in each hand, a refusal to be silenced by the wolves that hunt their packs; to the drowning in blood of the statue painted with wealth and peace . Our silence is not valuable as we watch this  inhumane catastrophic invasion  of souls. Yet, when we close our eyes at night, and the mosquitoes buzzing in our ears send us into a cycle of self-torture, a reminder of the pain you try so hard to ignore and a protest by the mosquitoes trying to transmit the reminder to your synapses.     Rape   is an atrocity co...