NewsDirect

NewsDirect

The Divine Rendezvous

By Omodero David O. At the dawn of eventide, the mind carries in its wombthe burden of prayer. I arrive, once again, at the quiet lake of wonder, where I must tarry upon its solemn bankand await the light draft…

Finding Love

By Alobu Emmanuel Even with the bottle cap tightened,I do not know how air sneaks in to soften things. Like rock, I used to be tough—edges all jagged and roughuntil I met her eyes & dissolved. The sweet potato is…

Leftover Palm Groves

By Jamila Abbas as lean as the nightingale song sounds, I haveseen god through these white walls twice.first, through the liquid fussed into myveins & the hallucinations that theseredemption speaks of. call me prophet, singme thongs, the diluted soul from…

Cento

By Michael Okafor I promise you this poem won’t have any laughter.I have squandered all the joy inside me. I am tiredof carrying myself. Most days I pretend to be dead.Nobody knows where this poem ends—this poemthinks it’ll end happily.…

Take All My Wilting Roses, Lord

By Flourish Joshua Sneak the amens out of the cathedral, I wantto make love to them for my supplications.  The goal, as it should be, is to outwit the wilt,smear joy on the walls of my room, necklace my laughter.…

Sun City

By Káyọ̀dé The foggy morning splitsmy lower lip, blistersthe flesh that refuses to submit to its whiteness. I slip outof the embrace of my mother’s Ankara—and no blanket warmth rivals its old snug fragrance.I am twenty rivers and hectaresof forests…

Matchstick

By Arikewusola Abdul Awal It begins with love: the flame of misery,wanting to be let loose from a kiss— brown eagerness mistakes a landmine foran orchard and runs into a dance of explosion. Somewhere, a life reachesIts climax in flames.…