Garden of Primroses

By Emmanuel Somtochukwu Ferdinand

Like you, I am more scar than flesh.
But I have forgiven the knife

& I am seeing the world for what it is—
A garden. From this balcony, the sun stares,

Unflinching, at the darkness crawling towards it.
Isn’t this the hardest form of love?

To watch something else take your place—
& you, unbecoming. Breathe in this sinewed air.

Take the loneliness of God into your nostril.
Pretend it is your nose seeking God into your body.

There is something awakening in you—
Like seeds sprouting from their slumber.

I was like that too before the forgiving—
asleep with my eyes wide open. But look,

I am as soft as primroses
Spreading over the stone walls of this street.

Their petals, well-closed secrets scary of
What crawls in the night. Their leaves dancing

As if there is joy in the dirges of the winds.
& the sparrows, soft-feathered on their nest,

silent as this poem. But listen, you might hear
Their fluid song. What I mean to say is:

Stare out of your wound & pretend
You, too, are more garden than misery.

BIO:
Ferdinand, Emmanuel Somtochukwu is a young emerging Nigerian poet and essayist. He has written a number of poems that have brought him to literary scenes and contests such as the Champion Educational Poetry Competition which he came out as the first runner-up. His work was also shortlisted for DKA Annual Poetry Contest. He is a scholar of language who has a keen interest in arts, humanities, and literature and also a journalist for Lasu Conscience, a media outlet in Lagos State University (LASU). His poems and articles appear and forthcoming in Wingless Dreamer, Eboquills Magazine, Brittle Paper, Arts Longue, D’ LitReview and The Nigerian Voice. He is currently studying English Language at Lagos State University.