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    Good Grief
    Good Grief
    Good Grief
    Ebook116 pages47 minutes

    Good Grief

    By Alinuru Yasin

    ()

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    About this ebook

    In the days and months following his wife’s death, Tanzania-born Alinuru Yasin turned to poetry—and tapped into a powerful experience shared by us all. Inspired by his desire to comfort those suffering from hardships both large and small, he explored the universality of his own emotions around mourning. The result of his work, Good Grief: Sixty Days with Sixty Poems, is part reflection on loss, part celebration of life.

    Told through the voice of a Swahili storyteller, this debut collection teaches us to savor our relationships, our hobbies, and even our responsibilities as part of the human journey. Thoughtful and uplifting, it encourages us to live each day with purpose and to never take anything, or anyone, for granted.

    To live means to grieve at some point, but Good Grief: Sixty Days with Sixty Poems extends a hand to help us move forward along this universal path, toward healing.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlinuru Yasin
    Release dateJun 6, 2017
    ISBN9781945823961
    Good Grief
    Author

    Alinuru Yasin

    Alinuru Yasin began writing poetry as a child while attending boarding school in England and South Africa. The Swahili riddles and proverbs he learned in his native Tanzania continue to influence his life. His passion for connecting through shared cultural experiences has taken him on travels around the globe. Before immigrating to the United States in 2000, he was an African safari guide and later became a cultural representative. He currently lives in Michigan with his two Yorkshire terriers. Good Grief: 60 Days with 60 Poems is his first book of poetry.

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      Book preview

      Good Grief - Alinuru Yasin

      Herculean Triumphant—The Champ

      I,

      Am,

      Ali,

      Cassius Clay,

      And his becoming,

      Muhammad Ali became,

      I floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee,

      Left right jab, uppercut jazz, fight like you mean it, a raging bull in the tight planet,

      Is right mighty? I stood all alone, then support came along,

      I stood tall, I said no, I found good help along the way, and they all came my way,

      Left hook knockout, right on the rope, in the rumble of the jungle down with Manila thriller, I could have become a killer but chose peace,

      Peace, peace, peace, justice for all, we are all equal in the eyes of the benevolent,

      We are all the same with a purpose; seek, yearn for it,

      Become who you are meant to be,

      Muhammad Ali,

      Shall always,

      Guide us,

      Champ,

      Me.

      After April 17, 2016, when I completed the sixty poems, I could not write anything. I was numb and somber. More or less, I sent out the weekly e-mails to family and friends and continued with life: an exercise routine whereby I have been running and practicing yoga. The new vigorous routine allowed me to lose over fifty pounds. Then, with the passing of the Champ, something began to move inside me. Dare I say: a rumble, a new beginning to connect with others who have lost and worked through their grief?

      A tribute to a beacon of hope and equality for all, a person who opened doors for many, and a pillar that has supported many, allowing them to rise up with respect, diligence, and twinkles in their eyes. For Mr. Jon B., thank you for sharing your personal encounters with a legend.

      Moreover, on June 26, 2016, while visiting my sister and my delightful niece, I watched the children play. I witnessed the children celebrating my niece’s sixth birthday. My hands moved quickly toward paper as I began to write a new series of poems under the working title Hopefulness in the Ordinary. The birthday poem is the first of many more to come. Our intersecting, intermingling, and engaging extraordinary lives are a precious daily gift.

      Good Grief

      60. Blessings for Tomorrow: Good Grief . . .

      When there is a beginning, there is an end.

      Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic,

      Birth, marriage, death,

      They come in threes,

      Even the three wise men.

      We know we are just passing through,

      A transit of the soul,

      A physical manifestation of Our Dear Lord,

      A unique part of the

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