if i die, what would my family write as my biography – Ugochukwu Damian
my lover holds my hands & whispers safe into the labyrinth of my right ear to calm the tremor dancing on my hands, but still, this revival crumbles at the foot of my demons.
Ikoja (passing) – Jubril Badmus
This machine regulates mein ways;at times it secretes serotoninat certain juncturesin the way a dial returns againaccordingly to indicatepassinglike a crepuscular fireflyawaiting twilight: I found myself grimacingat your foot again, asking for permission into your absence.Should I?before entering – 1. Obey the purplish glow 2. master […]
[This morning, in the mirror] – Henneh Kyereh Kwaku
This morning, in the mirror I saw my dead uncle. This time, he didn’t have an afro he had grown beard, looks like he brought his afroto the chin & cheeks. Of all the dead uncles, he’s the onethe aunties cry about. Even death loved something about him to want him from us. Something the […]
The Summer My Dad Fell – Ebuka Evans
the summer my dad fell like a springI was the yellow confusion at a jigsaw I remember my smiles were numberedI could count happiness, my tears were liquid, uncountable things. My brain was in a constant—those annoying ads that pop up during video games. and my eyes wereclay, his falling baked the way I […]
The Past Tense of Country – Tiwaladeoluwa Adekunle
is when you leave your own on purpose
and fracture your name on purpose
and yield
Like Light Moving Across Oblivion – Stanley Princewill McDaniel
I know when to stop trying, & agony is simply agony: raw, red; & being lost is being nothing else
On Finally Seeing Astarte Syriaca I Am Overcome With A Longing To Text You A Meme Only You Would Laugh At – Momtaza Mehri
I don’t know what it means to stand in front of a goddess
and not see my own reflection. Convincing you is half the problem
Stones – Adeeko Ibukun
To the map, I am defining my home,
what stone breaks me in or I break upon
Reflections – Asisipho Shaun Burwana
There are men who will teach you how to swallow yourself
And how to hide dead bodies under your bed
A Page from My Diary – Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto
A girl once walked into it and became a blackboard
where a geometrical equation of bodies was solved from behind
A Short Note on Departure Theories – Echezonachukwu Nduka
The only way to defeat departure is to say goodbye & stay.
Say see you soon but sit still
I swallowed him whole – Ekpenyong Kosisochukwu
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