….flowering with a sweetness that snares, forestalling the impulse to flight.
ALUTA | a poem by Erhimesoja
Some fell, like harmattan leaves, their dreams unfulfilled
But their legacy remains, a seedling that won’t be stilled
LET THERE BE LIGHT / REMNANTS OF A DYING COMPATRIOT / UNTITLED LETTER TO THE LEADERS OF MY HOMELAND | three poems by Muheez Olawale
in my mother tongue,
the only difference between living and transiting
to the great beyond lies just in a tonal variation.
A DEFILED ALTAR | a poem by Oladimeji Olatunji
A black sun rose from the west, where the earth slipped on its face…
IN THE QUIET, PEACE | a poem by Ajayi Taiwo Paul
We have carried the weight of their names on our tongues, in our hearts, and it has been heavy. But now, let us lay that weight down, not in forgetting, but in honoring.
‘YOU CUT MY CHEST OPEN / GRIEF IS NOT AN EMPTY SMOKE / YESTERDAY IS A MONOGRAM STITCHED INSIDE MY TONGUE | three poems by Annah Atane
My beauty is parched my teeth can no longer hold laughter
yesterday is a monogram stitched inside my tongue
DEAR EDITOR | a poem by Kingsley Onyekachi Asoronye
My literary works lie in coma for help..
They long for your surgical knife
GOODNESS | a poem by Rosheed Ayinla Shehu
A nostalgia for a Father whose name she bears but
Whose face only surfaces when she looks in the mirror.
F/R/A/C/T/I/O/N/S | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Chidera Udochukwu
The Ogas at the top just like Big Brother have an all-seeing eye,
If you dare say a word they will flip the switch, plunge us into darkness.
Esperance | a CỌ́N-SCÌÒ poem by Grace Orobosa
Am I a poetaster, finding solace in the sanctuary of poetry?
Or am I a poet, eccentric in style and yearning for peace?