you move through the cords,
naming each loop by the glimmer
of its elbow. you fondle the two
sides of the world, which are
hope and disaster. a bird suspended
by the whip of the universe.
all the rustling emptying into the
bright lake front, carpet thin against
studs of dark stars. burnt hands bleeding
through their paleness, through their
gaping devastation. you walk out of the
door enlivened as if there is an
encroachment fluting around you,
you make bold to clasp the ugly shaft
of solitude, to hunch over a small laughter
sprouting where your indignation
used to roost, to key into the soft of its fur,
the blood of its sprawling eyes
Goodnews Karibo is an Ijaw poet from Abua, Rivers State. He is a Best of the Net nominee. In 2023 he emerged as a finalist in the Unserious Collective Fellowship. Goodnews tweets via @slendergrass.