Poems by Benson Eluma
Myth of the Vestal Virgin It is time to set out for the crossroads.The vestal virgin, mother to all their mothers,Has something for them in the mirror —Image of herself nakedBefore the morning of creation,Yes, before the moulding of the gods.Stick ithyphallic in her hand pointing southward,Away from Eagle Square where our elders waitIn robes […]
Totems of A New Spring by Tunji Olalere
(For XX/X/XX)I The yellow moon is a wary eyeon the antics of the eveningand time folds into shapefor the ears that stalk it Shadows lean into shadowscross-pollinating chaos,the boughs of heads convulsein the gale of melody We are here with our kindand tomorrow is another lieun-promised to usin an infinite series of mockery We confer […]
A Poem by Uche Peter Umezurike
River Urashi Green is grey in the enigma of your smile. Your mouth, open: leafy breath mists my lips. Face of the Sphinx teases my thirst to understand this youth of windy spirits, his course directionless as driftwood. No custodian of your legend, no bearer of manifold tales of my tribe, I am prodigal in […]
Two Poems by Ismail Bala
(after Menka Shivdasani) ‘How come your hair is so lustrous?’the tall pianist asked, and she,half-awake, said Kano city was full of lustreand sometimes the place got into your hair. He was a pro, and they were playinghide-&-seek with each other, sexed-up noteson lustrous skin. ‘The problem,’ he said,‘is you’re too subtle’, and playedmusic from the […]
A Poem by Femi Oyebode
‘Who shall now tell of my joy! From her shoulders to her waist, how fair is her proportion! When she moves, she is like branches waved by a gentle breeze. Silks from India are less soft than her skin; and her form, though noble, is timid as the fawn’ Mohammed El-K’anemy 1821 […]
Two Poems by ‘Femi Pope
We die at birth We die at birthAnd life is a postmortem journey thereafterEvery breath, a new incisionEvery act, a stripping of fascia from muscleMortality is a congenital (dis)order. Childhood is pallor mortis,Innocence ebbs awayBlood leaks as capillaries collapse. Adolescence is raging fireReduced to smouldering ashBy adulthood. The fourth decadeIs for re-evaluating ambitionsThat once scraped […]
Two Poems by Olajide Salawu
Morénikéjì I can add my body to yoursand imaginethat under the ocean tonightwe take a communionagainst the world andwrite our names where the suncannot reach. It will be all darkand we don’t have to worryabout how the governance of this waterbrings out the animal in usbecause wherever the snail goesthe shell follows. Hypothesis for a […]
Three Wet Dreams by Benson Eluma
I sleep in laps. Wake up, rest from sleep like resting from work, then return to sleep-work.What is this shadow that follows me in the dark, despairing when the switch goes down?There is mud about my feet, reaching up to my trousers’ knees, and there is water.There is water all about my feet, reaching up […]
Three Poems by Kunle Okesipe
Today, as the sun crosses the turban of Saturn,a unicorn will run across your midriff,avoid violence but do not lower your weapon.As the planets enter the seventh house of the zodiac,with the moon approaching the dragon’s tail,and Venus untangles its hold on Neptune,some suitors will offer you a hug;a knight on a horse in the […]
Three Poems by Toni Kan
I sit by the sea shoreAnd dilute the ocean with my tearsSalt becomes sea becomes saltChoice is a burden heavier than deathAnd this broken heart knows it wellBut Bar Beach is insouciantComing and going these waves do not careSo, I sit and listen to my heart splinterMy broken heart bleeds, my eyes burnSalt becomes sea […]