Ailerons

Meet Maya Ghazal,
The first ever female Syrian refugee pilot.
Photo Courtesy: @ghazalmia (Twitter)

I never believed I could fly ✈️

Not until I turned refugee on the fly

That was when I looked out to the runway

And when my gaze landed on an airstrip,

All at once, I became a fuselage.

Now all I needed was wings

And a thrust and a lift.

I'd unlocked the door through which

I bust into my legit takeoff 🛫.

I was really excited to start over,

Here was my shot at a major makeover

There was this deep hunger to ride my storms

On the dynamics of ailerons

That morphed into a searing passion

To soar among the stars

And be redeemed from the stigma

Of these war-etched scars.

Now the world may see a refugee on wings

And that's alright, cause I really had big dreams.

But I'm already staring thru a window

Into endless possibilities

And a brighter tomorrow.

Akpan

What A Woman

A tribute to women of all age levels on
the International Women's Day. 
Courtesy: UNHCR

What manner of woman is this?

When she walks, she walks phenomenally.

When she sprinkles her sunshine,

And weaves her unique touch of magic,

She molds her own shrine

Where she makes the lonely a homie,

And gets the isolated homely.

When she makes an entry,

Even the hopeless dare to breathe.

The aura

She exudes redeems the weak.

What manner of woman

Heals all within

The stretch of her arms?

She's a mother,

She's a daughter,

She's a sister,

She's a friend,

She's a lover,

And a leader.

She won't bend

To get you over.

But she'll lend a hand

To help you stand tall.

She's the manner of woman

Ready to take the world,

By its balls.

Akpan

She Brings The Coldest Swagger

She brings the coldest swagger
She steps in a room and the silence hums
She's your daughter your mama and especially your sister
A tremor rings the bones of the earth as she rises and roars.

Akpan