Every Unfettered Joy

By Ayoade Olamide

Joy, they say, approaches in the morning,
but this one breaking from my skin holds
the semblance of a comet & I don’t know
when it would hit. This art of liberty
forms a laceration on my chest, & all I
can see is a honeycomb of starlight
filling the crevice with unpunctuated
sweetness. I’ve learnt how to extricate
sadness from my skin & tattoo the shape
of euphoria to the same spot. Two days
ago, I was caught in the deluge of fire,
but here I am, regenerating my charred
skin, giving it the painting of soft waters.
Every little joy matters, says a boy who
harnessed blackness by liquefying lustre
on his fingertips so anything he touches
becomes a piece of diamond & an
illumination of hope squeezed into the
warmth of sunshowers: brief & beautiful.

BIO:
Ayoade Olamide, NGP 1, is the author of “Poets Don’t Sleep,” an ardent lover of music, a song writer & a preacher of poetry. Second place winner of BKPW (2021 October Edition). His works have appeared in The Academy of the Heart and Mind, Ariel Chart, WattNigeria, Woven Poetry, Bansi IV/Demigods anthology, Artslounge & elsewhere. He tweets @penbleeds and can be found on Instagram @_penbleeds