By Tuoyo Palmer
The earth does not end with a thunderclap—
it crumbles in silence,
like a cathedral whose prayers
have been forgotten by its stones.
Cities lie open to the wind,
iron skeletons bleeding rust
into rivers that once carried
the laughter of children.
In the fields, no harvest waits—
only the brittle bones of wheat,
the empty mouths of soil
long abandoned by rain.
Yet in the ruins, a whisper remains.
A sparrow nesting in the skull of a statue,
a flower uncoiling from a fissure of concrete—
life rehearsing resurrection
on a stage of ashes.
And I, walking through this graveyard of glory,
carry both grief and defiance.
For if the earth must wear ruins like garments,
then let me stitch them with memory,
let me braid them with hope—
so that even in collapse,
we remember what it meant to be alive.
BIO:
Tuoyo Palmer is a Nigerian writer, multipotentialite, and cultural advocate. His work explores the intersections of heritage, resilience, and human possibility. He has been a finalist in regional poetry contests and is committed to using words as tools for remembrance and transformation. You can follow him on instagram, twitter(x) and tik-tok with his pseudonym @tomriffa