Sadness envelopes me. My heart feels like a jagged crack has been rent through it, and then cement has been used to block the gaping crevice. I stare up at the familiar white ceilings, the sterile walls around me seem to mock me. Sleep offers me no solace. Her voice haunts me in my slumber. … Continue reading Sade
The skies weep blood Or is the tears that cloud our eyes? The soil now grows bodies, like yam Buried deep within the ground- lifeless When did this abomination creep in? Who welcomed him and gave him water To wash his feet and palm wine to drink? Who beckoned to him from afar, and Promised … Continue reading Bloody Tears
The girl in the green batik dress Would stand every evening at the yard To watch the yellow smoky train rumble by And wave at its distracted passengers. The dress was faded and had a white lace fringing And she’d put a red hibiscus flower on its chest But she wasn’t as beautiful as the … Continue reading Trainspotting
It is dark, In the middle of the day, The sun is overtaken by the Sad cloud That shed tears In racking spasms And bawls on the shoulder On the earth As it soaks up the anguish And sways and rocks A steady rhythm. more poems and stories here
My boyfriend is dead, and I killed him. The day he died, we were watching a football match at the local bar, when in a fit of celebration, some dude slapped my ass. I don’t know if I made him think it was okay to be violently jealous when other guys leered at me – because he … Continue reading Lost but Found
Red sand on the pavement Tracing the minutes-old tire tracks Each thread of it ending by her flip-flops The one she stood in, as she stared At the red hot mist, fuming on the edge Of dawn’s strained clouds, A mist coagulating into the morning sun. It brought a memory of someone to her A … Continue reading Note to Somebody
“…And if I only could, Make a deal with God, And get him to swap our places…” Kate Bush Running up that hill, 1985 Dearest Daddy, I fell asleep yesterday. In the middle of the day. At my desk. Like a lazy lump of flesh. I was reading a mail, and I sort of slid sideways and blinked … Continue reading Letter to my Father Part II
I finally got round to putting something down about my father. Like medicine after death, literally, because he is dead and gone. Died December 7th, buried December 28th, Beloved Father, Brother, Uncle, Grandfather, Cousin, and all the other names they wouldn’t let us put in the obituary…Friend to his Children, Humorist, Lover of British Comedy who Introduced … Continue reading Letter to my Father Part I
The year was 2002. Was a freshman of Grange University in Baltimore where I studied International Relations when we met for the first time. We were classmates studying the same course and because we belong to the same study group, we bonded. His name was Rooney Woodard an exceptionally bright kid. He was staying … Continue reading Letting Go
Izunna turned his body in Adaugo’s direction, raised his right arm and pointed his extended forefinger at her. “My elders, this woman is as stubborn as a mule. She blatantly refused to accede to our request that she provides proof of our brother’s financial position at the time of his death. When we insisted, she … Continue reading And She Cried Some More 2
The alarm startled Adaugo awake. She didn’t want to wake up just yet so she burrowed deeper into the duvet and let it ring. When it kept ringing, she groggily opened her eyes. “I don’t know how Obiora is able to sleep through his noisy alarm even when it’s right beside him,” she muttered to herself. The … Continue reading And She Cried Some More
My best friend died of sickle cell anaemia. She was a slim and delicate thing, fair skinned and seeming to emit light from her very pores. She was always cold and loved to bask in the sun like a strange yellow lizard, closing her eyes and turning her face up to its warm caress. She … Continue reading The Tale of Moon and Sun
Hear it pour… watch it flow streaming down our sunken cheeks; Salty tide, currents of grief gathering at our dusty feet… Pools of pearls, rivers of tears, drop after drop of pain heartfelt. See it flow… hear it pour salty rain, torrents of pain; Kindred in nature, they meet the sea; The ocean’s tide… our … Continue reading Salty Rain
When night falls, a dark blanket, casting round enchanted spells; My lowly soul, its respite finds in her bosom so warm and swell… My grieving mind and lonely heart they cast their fears far-far behind. I close my eyes and fly away, a gallant knight to my cause true; My fantasies, they become real as … Continue reading When Night Falls
I gathered water in my palms, and cupped the sun in my fist; I claimed the wind as my own but who can drain the ocean? I chased a star as it fell even the rainbow to its tail; I tracked the wind to its home but who can clothe the earth red? I sought … Continue reading Oh Temi