FOR OLU I Where does our soul go to when we sleep at night? Everything here looks like a dream. When you left home, your mama awaited your return but grief made a stay. II You were your Mama's only eyes that mustn't go blind / but you got shot by the land / whose mouth is a gun / and the bullet, a poison to your blood. I saw bitter tears rush down your eyes / in your eyes I saw the anguish of unfulfilled promises / you used to dread that your mama would wallow in solitude. III Your Papa's body already kissed the lower ground four years ago —the wound is still a burning ember in your Mama's heart. You struggled, hoped and wished to give your mama a good life. Buy her a house and give her grandchildren; but look how your dreams turned to dust blown by the wind. IV Agony is a fire that blazes in your mother's eyes, turned her world to a cracked wall & your demise turned her heart to a bonfire of burnt feelings. V I hope justice will prevail for you, Olu.
An aspiring novelist and playwright, Salami Alimot Temitope is a newly admitted student of the Lagos State University, Nigeria. She’s from Oyo State and currently lives in Lagos State. Her poems have appeared on Nnoko Stories, Pawners Paper, Nymphs Magazine, and The Hearth Magazine and are forthcoming in the Kalahari Review.
