It was the second hearing of the case, probably the last if God wills. I looked around and found Barr. Ade sitting at the far end of the court room. A devilish smiled played on my lips as I called him to the witness box. I watched with a satisfied smile on my face as … Continue reading Mended Mirror – Part 6
Tonight was the night. She was sure of it. She won’t miss this time around. Wallahi! She even dreamt about it. Today was the day. She knew it. She put finishing touches to her makeup – a douse of brown powder on her round face, a tint of red on her luscious lips, a lining … Continue reading Nose Assault
He danced as the crowd cheered him on. He danced the way he’d danced himself into the heart of this fair maiden whom he’d slept with, whom he’d got pregnant, whom he was dancing to marry, for whom he danced in shame, their secret acts laid bare as the village elders took the bride prize … Continue reading Dance
How fairing shall it be to these men’s ears A curse, good news? That an unplucked Flower So does breathes and shines in this time of ours; ‘Cause our eyes blind to the beauty she wears? Or wise she was, the hurts of the world fear; May stir her milk until it becomes sour, Unpleasant … Continue reading BEFORE MEN’S EYES LIKE MINE SO ECLIPSING (Petrarchan Sonnet)
The sky. The sea. The shore. My feet, With them I stand upon the sands And watch the sun mount Into the morning. I’ve stopped imagining My daughter Yawning, Or building castles, Or swimming in the pool, Or flying a paper kite. My toes. The sands. The waves. The clouds, They drift As I would … Continue reading Castaway
There she floats, brooding upon the surface of the airwaves, deep, a convincing conveyor of the spirits of the letters of the writs. And… there she gloats, aglow with the pride of a prince’s bride; dark of hide, yet ablush. Aflush with innocence, but… there she bloats at the mid-sec, full of seed and taut … Continue reading Lydia
The bridge was quiet, a haven of solitude; flowers – white, red, yellow and purple – clung unto tendrils that hung down from the stone arches which curved over the length of the bridge, arches that had been overgrown with crawling leaves; each leaf swayed in the gentle, yet biting rush of cold wind. He … Continue reading Cold Haven
You come too soon. I am always expecting your call, ready to come. You come too soon. Easy traffic; I know my way around. You come too soon. The urgency in your voice urges me quicker. You come too soon. The thought of your touch drives me wild. You come too soon. I miss you … Continue reading Adam and Evasive
I was watching a movie (Midnight in Paris) yesterday when I heard some of the lines below; any aspiring writer should heed them (that’s my opinion, anyway). There was an Ernest Hemingway character in the movie, and all the lines you’ll read – except the last – are his: “It was a good book because … Continue reading Copying a Great Writer
Tribulation spread the Church. The Holocaust, Israel reborn. The Nigerian blockade pushed the ogbunigwe into my mind – and what fear it struck! I sense your fear of me; you’re Egypt, I am the sons of Jacob; lay more stripes, and, like leavened dough, let our numbers rise; curse us with draught, that rocks may … Continue reading One Nigeria
‘Beauty provokes thieves sooner than gold.’ So let it be famed – wherever I’m named; I’m unashamed – that love provoked a man to steal. When darkness falls and winds blow ill, I’ll steal the chill from your lungs, and clear the wheezing from your breathing, and eat the goose – bumps off your skin, … Continue reading Bigger Thief Than I
( Dedicated to my wife, Lorine Udoka Chukwueke) It’s a secret I cannot keep; It’s like liquid song In my veins – and my whole body sings it: It’s the truth of your words, The youth of your smile The depth of your wits The strength of your love For me That makes me sing. … Continue reading No Secret At All
(Sent to Fisayo Olanrewaju of Smooth FM, Lagos, for the “Smooth Sessions’s ‘Tales At Night-time’”) I sent them At your bidding – In your bidding Lies a promise, Unspoken, yet made – And you are made Honour-bound To read them And to read them On air When velvet is the sky And crickets call. ‘Zero.One.Double … Continue reading My Tales
Poor The purse That bursts with weight, That tinkles with coins, That buys lands and builds, Whose children yet starve And lay unclad In ill weather, Whose currency flows In stagnant currents To none but his mouth alone. Vain The mind That exalts the self Worthier of honour Above the rest Of one’s kind, What … Continue reading A Call to Bankruptcy
(A tribute to Whitney Houston and to the God who made her.) My heart hastens as I listen to hear when you’ll sing. When you sing, my ears awake; the angels fret – their jobs at stake – when you sing. When you sing, words blaze; I try to speak, they burn my voice, “My … Continue reading If Ever You’ll Sing To Me Again