lord, how many times have i prayed to crawl
back into my mother’s womb to be reborn as the sun?
A Life | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Johan T.K. Salihu
If only, if only
we knew what it was
the meaning of life
and what it does.
Breath(e) In Makoko Slums | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Ishola Joshua
her body speaks a language every fatherless home
in Makoko slums understands. The staple of fatherless children
is hardness, since the breadwinner has been baked by fate
Postpartum | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Elizabeth Akinsehinwa
I forgot how to inhale,
And the silence I felt,
Grew louder than his cries.
Resurgence | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Ferdinand Emmanuel Somtochukwu
Tell me, why cling to what drags your feet
when you can rise—seven times, and again?
Just—
pause.
Pause.
Ode To the Discography of Your Becoming | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Olobo Ejile
Life will teach you that this
is the discography of your becoming, with
albums & EPs of chaos, & there is nothing
you can do about it, except to take a deep breath
THE TOY | a poem by Johan T.K. Salihu
So, this is what happens when you steal someone’s toy:
You might become a thief and have a life with no joy.
BEAUTIFUL AS AN UNORTHODOX TEMPLATE | a poem by Joshua Effiong
i’ve accepted my unholiness. &
if humans don’t accept me this way, my brothersisters
& sisterbrothers will be my light & salvation.
Blue Top | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Ismail Bala
That smile of hers, that cleavage
so prime to fulfil a new kind of sensual pleasure.
Slum & Transition | two CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poems by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
In my mother’s village, it happens again—
herders invade, fields burn, and another slum rises.