Cutting ties with the cyborg

By Abdulrazaq Salihu

At a lab in NASA, I sprawl my fingers
On all the keys that could undo the deed
Of misconception and miscalculation
Like water does to  dry land — revive its glory.
My mistakes transpire from my skin like a
Cam plant, slow, and skillful in their transport
To seek communality — slow enough to feel the
Weight of every ounce of water lift itself away
From this mistake you call a home.
It’s me coming to terms with my creation,
A little click, a little clack; it’s me agreeing
To call my own, my own.
I have now agreed that you can
Build a person but you cannot give
It a purpose, so I lift my restrictions
Off your program. I watch your path.
My cyborg — body of surprise, body of
A thousand purposes, standing by his
Show glass — eyes blue with possibilities
And intentions veiled. Last week, after a pain test,
I asked cyborg how he felt, cyborg was
Already becoming too human to say the truth,
Too human to say I can’t take this no more.
I moonwalk to him, there’s a flesh of wire leaking
From his rib cage, I push them back into his chest.
I’m now waiting to count my tears, he covers
My wound — my heart, with his palms, a pinch
Of guilt follows the path of the wind and rests
On my chin, but to be a creator is to be ready to
Watch them creations grow. To be ready to give
Them creations wings for flight and come to terms
With whatever they do with them wings.
When the fire alarm went up, I felt the cutting
Of song strings, it could’ve been my veins,
It could’ve have been his wires. It could have
Been something that held us together — memory.

BIO:
Abdulrazaq Salihu, TPC I, is a Nigerian poet and member of the hilltop creative arts foundation. He won the Splendours of dawn poetry contest, BPKW poetry contest, Poetry archive poetry contest, Masks literary magazine poetry award, Nigerian prize for teen authors (poetry), Hilltop creative writing award, and others. He has his works published/forthcoming in Bracken, Poetry Quarter(ly), Rogue, B*k, Jupiter review, black moon magazine, Angime, Grub Street mag and elsewhere. He tweets @Arazaqsalihu; instagram: Abdulrazaq._salihu. He’s the author of Constellations (poetry) and hiccups (Prose).