where is the rainbow i often found
in the sky of returning lips
oh port harcourt whose pots are courts
where meat arbirates fingers
sọ́kà (a poem by Adedayo Agarau)
in another room,
we found femurs
the latitude of
suffering
MONSIEUR PARISCOPE & FRESCOES: FLORENCE, DECEMBER 1989 (two poems by Kate Meyer)
We stepped out from my
borrowed flat in the Marais, under
the Renaissance arches of the Place
des Vosges and the formalities of
the Hotel de Sully, into the squalid
modernities of far-flung banlieu
where a cathedral lurks amongst
market debris.
THIS CITY SHAN’T BE MY CAULDRON!(a poem by Olajuwon Joseph Olumide)
where is the rainbow i often found
in the sky of returning lips
oh port harcourt whose pots are courts
where meat arbirates fingers
A BOY’S CITY (a poem by Odemakin Taiwo Hassan)
a weird mix of pain and nostalgia latch on to my
tongue. this city moulded me too, in ways too many to mention.
CEMETERY & THE MAGIC AROUND HERE (two poems by Chisom Charles Nnanna)
Here, boys are men, and girls
are no ladies— no—they’re no less the man
who shoulders a house for a living—frankly. And
it’s no child abuse, it’s the hustle.
ADDICTIONS (a short story by Onyi Igwe)
“You are happy today?” I ask the girl.
She pays no attention, staggers to the desk and picks up the lamp.
“You are happy today,” I say again.
WAS I STRANGER? (a poem by Ekta Rana)
I saw the face, caught the eye;
unable to recognize the soul behind.
EVERYWHERE THE AIR GOES, I GO (a poem by Uwen Precious Ogban)
a trumpet needs a mouth to make its melody. we all need air to be alive.
i am standing on a branch of life
and willing it to break.
THE WARLOCK IN PURPLE GOWN (a poem by Zainab Iliyasu Bobi)
Earth and fire;
to slice the tongue sitting at the center of the market square.