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 for
an orchard and runs into a dance of

explosion. Somewhere, a life reaches
Its climax in flames. O, how death begins

with hunger—how passion ignites a robust
tree—twists it into a lifeless wiry ash!

O girl, O habibi, cupid’s incense smokes
my head. O habibi, be it of death, or be it

of life, allow me the corridor of your fiery
box—allow me an ignition in your yellow heart.

BIO:
Arikewusola Abdul Awal has his works published in Eunoia Review, One, South Florida Poetry Journal, Polyphony Lit Journal, Fleeting Daze magazine, and elsewhere. He is a student at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria. Find him on X @Awalbabatunde11