O you must watch your steps
even as you pass by
& never fall in love with this poet
lest you forget your gold in his poems
‘ THE SOJOURNER’S ORDEAL’ & ‘DANCER’ (two poems by Arisno Nwankwo Isaiah O.)
I wish I could come again.
Like a bird or a flower
To be with you in the hour
When silence reigns supreme
ALL FOR WHAT (a poem by Ude Vivian Chidimma)
Is it just me or do you too wonder? Ponder on this thing called existence Tense in the living absent in the dead Dread of death and even more so...
‘REKINDLED FLAME’ & ‘SCHISM’ (two poems by Gift Emmanuel Olaleye)
How he made his sharp but soft words break
Her heart to learn singing all night long
The desire burnt out at the stake.
DITCHES (a poem by Raphael Oryiman)
Ditches; Are dug by green snakes. With kisses and hugs, And friendly smiles, Which dissight the wiles. Also, a fraternal embrace, That assures solace; Where venom is braced. Look! Leap!!...
‘CHILDREN OF MELANIN’ & ‘ROAD TO SOLDIER’ (two poems by Owolusi Lucky)
Whichever road that leads us to soldier
For a land thirsty for green leaves
Makes a hero of us that never gave
Up on our fatherland.
‘EJIMA’ (a poem by Vivian Nnagboro)
The pills are communion to you,
Each one bringing you closer to the most high.
The prophet’s cane, though a weapon
For destruction, seeks salvation for you.
‘THERE’S NOTHING LEFT’, ‘PIECE OF A DREAM’, ‘THERE WAS ALSO A CANDLE ON THE TABLE’ & ‘THE WOUND IS FULL OF BLOOD’ (four poems by Ivan de Monbrison)
There was also a candle on the table.
Pen, paper.
And the head that someone put there.
He must have forgotten it.
CAGED DOG DOESN’T BITE (a poem by Chime Justice Ndubuisi)
They eat the meat I killed,
I eat the bones and laugh at them
WHAT BRIGHTON SAYS ON A SUMMER EVE & IF LAGOS KNEW (two poems by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema)
If Lagos knew, it would change, if only for one moment
to breath in deep in awe of this nativity
Bethlehem slept but Lagos hustles on another sunny day.
And as another placenta gets buried
Eko’s beauty is crafted in the sound of another infant cry.