Poetry

Recollections II, Dawn, and Falling by Ayiyi Joel

Recollections II For a friend. For Kafaya. Aging is quite cruel.& grief is a small room, a shoe, a set of milk teethYou never outgrow, it never falls offAs memory never fails youAs language does to a body empty of…

4 Poems by Chinemerem Prince Nwankwo

Portrait Of Catch and Quest —this poem breathes:        precision with[out] end. searching for reason . man & the finesse of dredging.the River:   trawl & trawlboat. portrait of catch & quest.find the depth —naked rostrum of plunging. catch…

The Day The Fireflies Danced us to the Edge

By Nwodo Divine The rasp of a moth wing, caught between windowpaneand the moon’s hard gaze.A silent question markfluttering against the future,the shadow stretched before our eyes,but kept moving towards the bloom,petals heavy with the scentof honeyed bees. Stars were…

The Promise of Another Lagos Sunrise – Nwodo Divine

Sun hot on my back, dust swirls around my ankles. Cars honk in impatience. Peanuts in a dented tin, cold and heavy in my hand. Voices a blur, “No, thank you,” or a dismissive shake of the head. Belly growls,…

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Window – Anointing Obuh

After Wallace Stevens “Thirteen Ways Of Looking At A Blackbird” I. This is the only window in this houseII. Inebriation can multiply a hand into a hundred hands feeling up your dress, one window into three.III. Every window has a…

There She Lies – Caroline Nikoro

There she lies, a withered rose.Flattened on the ground, heartbroken.There she lies, lost in a wilderness.Her dreams are shattered,and her future craves the shine of noon.There she lies like leaves that have plungedinto the uncaring earth.There she lies, devoid of…

Anarchy – Miracle Isowanmwen

If your story starts with silence and you become as heavyas the hollow inside a snail shell, then you can be me,perched on a fence with only two cents of hope for the hereafter.The music is still playing but our…

Elegy for a love refuse to cradle – Temi Ademikanra

Again I’m refusing to try. So you’ll never hear me say: I’m craving love. 1 know deep in me that I’ve made a mistake And that Refusing to care anymore will ease my pain. I don’t believe There is perfect…