Read Time:1 Minute, 40 Second
after reading Vagabonds by Eloghosa Osunde
the stars in the eyes of two boys would collide
to form Eden. but here, they are only seen as
walking chaos awaiting the wrath of god or
the law. how many deaths must a body witness
before it is allowed to bloom? if a boy choose
to seek the soft evening sun on another boy's
body, does it prevent the sun from shining?
everyone hides the part of them they don't want
others to see. like the way a girl murders her feelings
for another girl. & her mother prays her into
the hands of god, binds & casts the devil in her
into hell countless times. they say, home is synonym
for peace. i ask, what if home doesn't welcome
your becoming? then you are a prodigal beauty.
i unmask myself. i am Èkó. & Èkó is me: blunt/
unholy/tough/canal/rainbow/taboo/fragile/god.
sam smith's young is playing on the stereo, & I
set its highest volume. i am dancing & dancing &
dancing. god, look at how you make this body
too small to behold your wonder. see how my
spiritperson is basking in ecstasy.
oftentimes, i switch between being Bọ̀dé or Abíọ́sẹ̀,
Ṣọlá or Ṣemílóre. i'm magic. my spiritperson understands
that i'm not human. if god created me in his image,
am i not a god, too? i've accepted my unholiness. &
if humans don't accept me this way, my brothersisters
& sisterbrothers will be my light & salvation.
Joshua Effiong is a writer and artist from the Örö people of Nigeria, currently studying Science Laboratory Technology at the University of Calabar. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Shallow Tales Review, Rough Cut Press, Madrigal Press, Titled House, Augment Review, Selcouth Station Press, Rising Phoenix Review, Acropolis Journal, and more. He is the author of the poetry chapbook Autopsy of Things Left Unnamed. Connect with him on Instagram @josh.effiong and Twitter @JoshEffiong.
