Libation

By Blessing Omeiza Ojo

To ride tandem on a world built on revolution, our ancestors
must first unlimber in their graves, & our gods must decline
red things, like blood — that of my brothers, of the innocent birds,
of lambs — like palm fluid. Listen, there’s a joy outside
from the embrace of water. Here, bodies unclutter into a home
to welcome a stranger. & It’s all pretense to say it’s festive
when we know the fields are not white for harvest.
I will see through now, dark as my skin into the future, awake.
The night would meet us pairing into space for the spirits
who’d demand that we handover the man who once thrashed
our rituals in his poem. However, our land will not know
the thickness of his gore. In this era of newness, libation is
driving droplets of water into dust, the deities — all popping.

BIO:
Blessing Omeiza Ojo has taught poetry to children in schools, winning with them on pages and stages. He is the Chairperson of HCAF Abuja, and has published his works in literary journals and has won best teacher’s awards.