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Afridiaspora

African stories, our stories

Three Poems by Ajise Vincent

June 12, 2017 by Admin Leave a Comment

pub

playing God

at a juncture in this pilgrimage of life
came a light, lucent, yet artificial,
passing through the prism of storms
to birth magic — the eighth wonder

of cosmetics, of kingfisher size wigs,
from the twitching of orchards
all a ploy shrouded in the passage of omens
designed to prevent our metamorphosis to atoms of dust.

barbarisms

can’t you perceive the foul odor of our barbarisms
choking the throat of renaissance, the stench from the armpit
of uncircumcised gods diluting the wind of growth.

can’t you see the vanity in this odyssey,
the end in this vista of hope, as arcadian minds
of nocturnal cravings now fade like mist of dawn.

we have planted seeds of grace, bedraggled these seeds
with waters of diligence. yet what do we reap?
banalities – cheap talk devoid of excrescence’s sprout

we are the testicle of a lion eaten by miasmas of sterility,
a blot on time’s virginity that cannot be erased
by our ancestral ploys of schism.

today, naked storms stand before us
like the red sea. yet i see no moses to make it navigable.
the kernel that inhibits the seed of our unity

has refused to break & the rain that accompanies
gutty mornings will soon go on a sabbatical
lo! it’s time to cover the nakedness of our hearts

with togs of concinnity. perhaps, with the omnipotence
of love. that we may not gnash our teeth to rubbles
like the remains on the street of jericho

puberty

the night
i found latex
on sheets
housing the nudity
of my bed
the innocence
of my name
tasted like
jewish ash
on the omphalos
of my tongue.
goosebumps
defied the magic
of life’s embrace.
& all i craved
for was the sweetness
in the darkness of an essence:
the euphoria that climaxes
when spiders have sex
& none of the parties
is feigning an orgasm

*******

Bio: Ajise Vincent is an economist and social researcher based in Sokoto, Nigeria. His works have appeared or are forthcoming at The Bond Street Review, Indiana Voice Journal, Jawline Review, Jalada, Ink, Sweat & Tears, Chiron Review, Asian Signature, Ann Arbor Review, Yellow Chair Review, Bombay Review, Birmingham Arts Journal, Snapdragon: a journal of art & healing, The Cadaverine, Souvenir literary journal, Elsewhere, Sentinel Quarterly & various literary outlets. He is a recipient of the Eriata Oribhabor poetry prize 2015. He loves coffee, blondes & turtles.

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Filed Under: Africa, African Writing, Features Tagged With: African poetry, African Writing, Ajise Vincent

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