I am in the dark
I swallowed a river ten times the size of heaven; three times mother took me there to wash, three times now it made a beast off me
Father washed himself in it and hung so the masses would see his purity and deny their acts,
some of them dared come here without clothes
I saw the eerie signs of women spitting images in God’s face
Children who know nothing are allowed to carry gods weight in them
Father calls it faith
Sometime in May: I feel like a loose god
I do not wear pain like some people do
I spill it off me and wear a nice face
So my painter will learn a thing or two about mistakes
I am the fire that can make any god seem cheap and dress in my bosom
Father says, “Throw a child inside a cup and watch him drink himself to stupor”
Throw your god inside and I’ll swallow him whole
Ekpenyong Kosisochukwu Collins, male, is from Nigeria. He grew up in Nsukka where he is currently studying English and Literature at the University of Nigeria. His works have appeared in the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize anthology and Differed Dreams. He is 20 years old.