I see Papa, lying on his bed. His round glasses make his face even rounder as he reads from his big Bible. I swallow my saliva, so I do not say the hurtful things my heart delivers to my mouth. I make my fingers into a fist and struggle with the urge to grab the [...]
Mixed feelings to her weren’t like curry and talcum but like sugar and salt, each element primarily indistinguishable from the other until—at least, another of the senses was employed. And even then, it would be silly to commence the task of separating each atomic grain of sugar from each atomic grain of salt—best leave things [...]
Last night, I heard you sing out the scars in your voice. It was a depiction of how death lurches in your throat, And grief burns like an inferno in your tummy. Your wings drop like dried leaves in harmattan. The winds beat your wings As your feathers flutter to the song of the [...]
You held the sun By the throat, Made love to darkness. She screamed your name —But your name, Sopona, Is not to be spoken— We fell to the Wrath of earth. The air we breathe Stalks us Water can't cleanse this curse. you are death, You are antidote. The sun is your wife, The moon, [...]
‘When I was first brought here, Those hallways were more beautiful Than any palace…’—Merlin Two lines stretched apart And we fell through. The Isle of the Blessed. Shrouded by mist, Pulsing with possibility and life; The air never extreme Which for rain had a little silver dew. Your voice was a given, [...]
There was a forceful banging at the door. Gadi was up and getting dressed. He looked over his shoulder at his wife. “I love you,” he said. “Don’t worry. Stay in bed.” He whistled as he limped down the corridor, a slight sway to his gait due to a childhood accident that broke his right [...]
Driving home from the office on Addis Ababa evenings, but not all, The berbere makers would grind chiles and spices into a mix In small mills on the back streets, the smells floating over the beeswax Candlestick sellers and men drinking coffee, passing through the car window. Berbere is found in [...]
Ills, thriving on carts with colourful wheels, Errors, steaming from grey pots of ignorance, Rotten stars, smiling gaily from above. Wherewithal shall salvation be? Corrupted gems, polluted treasures, Thieves, with ties and well-suited suits, Men with the belly of a ball, in flowing agbada. Unto which rock shall we call for safety. A [...]
Jimi got off the motorcycle when it arrived at the junction that led to Jericho Villa, a sly smile plastered across his face, "Cheers to the first of its kind," he muttered as he enjoyed the charms of the odd hour. Whenever he came home in the past, there was always the stream of evening traffic, [...]
"You ill-mannered woman!" The yell that filled the room startled Adesua as she walked into her father's quarters. The woman who yelled pointed a finger at the other. "Why would you think my son stole the talisman?" The older woman didn't budge at the act. She only adjusted her crown before speaking up, "Do you [...]
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