After a Conversation about Janazah with S in a Dream
By Abu Bakr Sadiq I wake drunk on the smell of my kufi liquefying under sunlight I touch the sea under my eyes hoping to pick wishbones from its bed I watch a cat fight for its life as it…
contemporary nigerian poetry
i’m here, mother i’m here
By Taiwo Hassan in this poem, fire wears the essence of its irony and i’m drowning. touch this skin, there’s a home burning in each of its pores. make no mistake, these ashes are not meant to be unburnt, so…
32 portraits of a boy
By Emmanuel Ojeikhodion an armistice fails to reconcile the war-zones of my body. there is a big war within that doesn’t die. no one watches when I split like a burning house. nobody listens to the grief rattling my bones.…
Bungee-jumping
By Omodero David Oghenekaro By the green River, I watched the Orange-breasted kingfisher plunge, beak-first for water, to perform the acrobatics of hunger. Show me a hunger that is not dangerous; show me a desire not taking The frame of…
NIGERIAN NEWSDIRECT POETRY PRIZE 2020: WINNERS & FINALISTS
We are delighted to announce the winners of our inaugural poetry prize: First Place (N70,000): Chidera Ihekereleome-Okorie – BLOOM Second Place (N50,000): Praise Osawaru – MONOLOGUE BEHIND A BOLTED DOOR, SOMEWHERE IN IKORODU Third Place (N30,000): Ọbáfẹ́mi Thanni – LET…
Snowman
By Akubudike Deborah i walk backwards on the snow: on you; take a handful of you: your reflection on my caramel skin; mold it into me, into my memories. i let that white skin, like white roses, pierce…
refrain:
By Ruona to be at the pinnacle’s peak –no more bars to cross not one prayer to say even here is the world swirling chaotic around me and i am breathing the confusion settled around my neck to…
And in all these ways a woman is God
By Roseline Mgbodichinma I. In the chapel, the bell rings & the pendulum swings all into solemnity – the same way a mother’s breast becomes hose and stills the clamour of a child, The only salvation I know is an…
wake up, Rihanetu
By Haneefah Bello healing begins whenever you are ready – Ashley Davis honey, turmeric, chlorine & cloves. closed eyes, deep breaths, the cracking, then the counting: how many parts were you cleaved into? green bells ringing, limp shells bringing…
Dilution is the cure for pain, so I paint a landscape of tears
By Anointing Obuh This is how I remember my home downtown: Flowers fisting together like a child[‘s] hand, sprayed along the meagre journey From the patio to my room. The rain outside similar, to my mother’s tired eyes in this…