in lagos, my sisters
& i, still shorter than the chest-
freezer on the balcony, set out for an anglican
school at dawn. &, we, as mother would have it
also report to arabic classes at the call
of dusk. both buildings at parallel
opposites on okesuna
street. now a young lady
whom i think well-meaning shoves the scripture
in my face while i promenade. & i do not get
vexed. ọlọ́ládé says i bury my tongue
alive each time i evoke its nativity. & i do
not get vexed. in a zoom meeting, white ghost-
writing patron insists my english is beautiful
teeth broken into crumbs. & i do not get vexed.
once as a child, at ilé-kéú, i keep missing the theta
in ث and my arabic teacher plucks a tooth out
my gums. & i do not get vexed. & i do
not get vexed. i smile and say thank you.
Muiz Opeyemi Ajayi (Frontier XVIII) studies Law at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He’s an editor at The Nigeria Review, featuring/forthcoming on Poetry Wales, Nigerian News Direct, Trampset, Rough Cut Press, Shrapnel, The Aurora Journal, Brittle Paper and elsewhere. He was second runner-up in the 2021 PROFWIC Poetry Contest, BKPW Poetry Contest, and a 2021 ARTmosterrific Writer-in-Residence.
