Welcome to a darkened home Where snakes dominate the trees, And happy birds fly with a heart fearful of returning home, Where children are dogs at night. Welcome to a darkened home, Where sword and pistol daily speak in unison Nurturing the land with red wine, A place the sun refuses breeze to put [...]
Author: Sub-Saharan Magazine
Goodnight, Walter ~ Ghozye Nelson
Most people knew you as a great writer, But you were also a great negotiator. Never went back on your words, Strong-headed, but kind-hearted. “Egwu a m na-agu, o naghi e mee exist o” Was your theme song whenever we talked It always cracked me up. That song will be missed. You would [...]
You Misunderstood ~ Graham J. Darling
JonCarver of Barzoon, you misunderstood. The True Love whom you met in your dreams was the goddess of this planet: pluripotent relict of a vanished race, marooned here eons before you ever were (do not doubt her love; she was made for love). Your crash-landing awakened her to purpose. The honeyed tongue she thrust between [...]
Dark Soul ~ Ghozye Nelson
I don’t know why But disaster makes me laugh, And I smile at the tears of others sometimes. I wonder if that makes me a villain, Or just another crazy spirit waiting to terrorise the universe. I swear I don’t mean any harm And I wouldn’t do anything to hurt a soul, But I [...]
The Call ~ Bethany van Sterling
On mild, cloudy nights on the island of Gran Canaria, you can hear the call. Some say when you put a shell to your ear at high tide, or when a ship docks at port. The figure of a woman hovers above the shore, and like lighthouses in the distance, two green irises scintillate from [...]
Walls of Nigeria ~ Jeremy Szal
I stare at the twisted remains of Lagos through the visor of my exosuit as I stalk down the hill. Buildings crumble and slide into the sea. Coils of fiery smoke curl up to the sky. So much work, so much craftsmanship. Gone in weeks. I'm panting as I continue down the hill — with [...]
Nagmerrie ~ Karlo Sevilla
That speck of soft and moist matter between your fingers -- without a name, origin uncertain -- which you briskly roll and rub, like flour, could be rheum, mucus, or your own skin tissue stuck in your fingernails when you clawed at yourself in your sleep... That cold pool drenching your bed... Likewise, I really [...]
Abiku ~ Ezeokoye Vanessa Onyinye
So when you see the eyes of the wind roar under the manes of a furious darkness, know that I, Abiku, have come again. I am the leathery meat for the boastful swallows of the bald earth. I am bony; I choke. I am the ceaseless regurgitation, a death not dying... Tell awele to gather [...]
CONTRABAND LOVE ~ Godwin Ebuka
He gallops into my dream every night Carrying sprinkles of stars on his polished armor as though a heavenly knight. He would join me in the waterbed, And we would swim till I hear the morning birds And wake with my pants wet and dripping. But back in reality, he never returns my stare. He [...]
So I Say What is Safe and Simple ~ Yvonne Higgins Leach
My brother e-mails me about how, of late, people have cast words like stares that tell him he has not provided well enough for his family; that their financial struggles have been a burden, like rocks in bags on their backs they didn’t know were there. As he passed through the kitchen yesterday, Judge Judy [...]