here, the only ode is a receding
of insult. instead of pillows, my guardian
uses a slab, nets it on my nape & calls it
discipline. yet, that same night, cracks open—
like an egg—a psalm with my name.
GRACE (a poem by Blessing Omeiza Ojo)
I asked a boy, an orphan, bathing the street with waters
from his body, what led his pedigree to rest.
He said it was a bullet from a drunk policeman’s riffle.
the village chief’s wife & the boy who told tales to a blue bird (a poem by Kukogho Iruesiri Samson)
Today, the chief’s wife visited the village square
her once-rectangular parts now are square!
but we dare not boo or harry her…
OSOFISAN | a poem by Overcomer Ibiteye
my matchbox world gives my family light from my moon
for we are soluble in this water of being
VERSES FOR SAGES | a poem by Peter Itanka
D is for D.O. Fagunwa, the bullroarer who rode in his pen horse for an Expedition To The Mountain Of Thought. D is also for Dele, the town crier whose large bell rings out: Do Not Die in Their War.
PACESETTER | a poem by Adedire Adekunle Peter
If You Must Set Forth At Dawn
Rise before the sun will smirk at your courage
Of a poet that birthed this madness
CHIMAMANDA OF THE EAST | a poem by John Kote
You are not a single story
Patience and pain have courted you to the gravestones of dearly beloved
Grief is not brief, take notes
A BIRD OF PANEGYRICS SINGS OF LEGENDS | a poem by Olajuwon Joseph Olumide
these souls live on,
with immortal footprints on this terrain of african poetics
embodying our narrative experiences.
COMMUNICATION WITH KASHIMAWO | a poem by Dr Stephen O Solanke
I kept
the mandate of my people
I died
the death of self
SAIL ON TO TOMORROW & THE FOREVER OF OUR MEMORIES | a poem by Kukogho Iruesiri Samson
Imomotimi, sail on to the other side
As we paddle words to hurry waves for you
While counting time on our prayer beads