201020

A boy stared with sightless eyes at the starless sky

The smile across his neck would be pretty if it wasn’t bloodshot…

Like one of the many bristles of the brush, his head held ink, dark and red, ready to paint you a picture.

Of what dead hopes taste like on the tongue of hearts tired from trying

Just this morning his eyes held a song,
His knees said a prayer.

Someone lied to him, said there was salvation in the dead fingers of a nation’s anthem.
Told him to keep faith in the green-white-green textile

He came out with a song, just this morning…

So now the boy gazes.
Undead eyes pregnant with horror.

There are missing pages in his story. Hungers never spoken.

And today, we offer paltry libations of honor, to the heroes whose mangled bodies paint our history.

St.Davnique™️
©2021

Body Count


I like God
Heal.
Same intentions against the devil and his ant hill.
When we see ailments ping a body down to zero
We pong and ten is what the healing scores


Your real you is not you
Body bags,
Dead men call, we are here for the body count
Lined like stomach walls, we were built to digest em all
Pand or epid we emic all
I mean we emit all
Light is how we resist, dull
Sick is what we kick out
Polio
Sons of the most H, H for holy o!!!

UC Truth
©2021

Light


Sometimes I feel like the world is an unlit candle, watching my lighter’s drama.
I was taught the word is light, I guess grade school didn’t teach us to speak in brighter grammar
Cos these twilight thoughts often leave my tongue twisted.


Who ever said talk is cheap, never valued the tongue he was gifted.
Still, light has never met a darkness it could not chase.


And even when words are too heavy for lips to lift, I can still hum amazing Grace.
Until I can flip my can’ts to can dos.
Until I can speak Sparks to these candles.

Ini Brown
©2021

Box

How do you keep the voices within silent?
How do you keep these storms of insecurities from surfacing ?
How do you unbox yourself?
Set free from all the labels and tags set by the world..

Am I bound to these stereotypes as Christian?
If God created me differently,
Then why do I need to fit my person into a genre,
Must I lock put emotions because I was born a man?
Never to shine on another’s face,
Or heal my neighbour’s heart

My heart is dense from my thoughts a hole, drilled by confusion,
How do I keep these emotions from leaking?
Before I drown and become another zombie,
A walking dead; no emotions no feelings,
Just another man trying to fit in,
Another statistics,
Somebody should tell me, please,
What does it mean to be Masculine?

Adeleye Olaoye
©2021

Dawsk


How do I merge this two?
How do I correlate light and darkness?
Do I do away with the brightness of daylight or bask in vague thoughts of nothingness?
Should I?
Could I?
Will these sooted thoughts fetch me the spark needed to light up my world or
Merely scratch on the surface of my fears as the sun would the ocean at dusk and have me foiled?
Curled up, awake, in the stillness of the night is how I find peace.
Sitting, underneath starry skies is how I brood courage to face the streets in one piece.
Like parallel lines in harmony I see the dawsk start and finish up each other’s tune,
With little or no care if I blend in,
Saturating my words with a soothing tone.
But like black and white has different shades in expression
I am learning to grey up the dark spots of imperfection and
Whiten up the milky paths of uncertainties with rays of light.
Each day and night
Through rolling tears or stretched lips in spite…
In an endless dawn to dusk carousel,
I’ll stand,
Strong,
In between,
Tiring and trying,
Tiring and trying,
In my little caravel
Till I find my balance at dawn

Imani Dokubo
©2021

“WHAT I WANT”

“Today, I just want to be quiet
To be quiet enough to hear the sound of Father’s footsteps
Footsteps that assure me I’m not alone.

Today, I want to be quiet enough
Quiet enough to hear God’s whispers
Whispers that resonate peace
Peace within my gates and prosperity in my palaces

I just want to be quiet today
Today, I desire to distance myself from noises within and without
Without which pleasing sounds are audible
Audible enough to be felt even by my skin.

Today, I want to be quiet
Doing just one thing
Listening.”

PearlyThoughtz
© 2021

not Ready

When I thought about the word
My heart leapt in silent laughter
as if to share in quiet joy my awe
At how I once believed readiness was a chapter
That I needed to attain to do more
Such an appalling misrepresentation of the matter

To be ready is to be a willing one
To serve opportunity’s timing now not after
To date today and not cheat with tomorrow
To learn while you grow from experience gathered
To live prepared for the much you know and the few you control
And ready you will always be, if you follow this pattern.

– Ezeonyeka Godswill
(c) 2021

Decisions

A decision is not glamorous
It is not about the raised chest of the champion as he declares his conquering conquests to an adoring crowd

It is a lot more than that with a lot less glamour
For a decision reduces a man to nothing more than his resolve
To stand

To stand when falling is convenient
To stand when running makes more sense
To stand even though he lacks the strength

A decision is both a man’s greatest defense as much as it is his greatest flaw for when life comes at him and strips him of all he once had

When life takes the glories in the alluring arms of yesterday
When life sails the praises of men to the next big sensation
When life takes one last bow as it exits in that fateful breath
May that man find I pray, a grateful appreciation that his resolve birthed the life he desired and his decision though tried and tested remained true

– Ezeonyeka Godswill
(c) 2021