Toluwalogo Niji-Olawepo is a writer from Nigeria who finds expression in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. She is also a medical student.

219, 000 Hours

140,160 was the beginning of flowers blooming.

The uprising of bending branches, heeding the call of the bright sunlight.

157,680 was an awakening from drunk-like staggering. Into learning. Into searching.

175,200 hours.

Voices here. Voices there.

In my head. In the walls. In the streets. On the screen. In their stares. In their smiles. In their frowns.

The answers that you seek are unavailable at the moment.

Try

Again

At

183,960.

183,960 comes

and it comes too fast.

I am still scrambling for all the lost pieces of glass

Buried amid Bruno’s falling sands.

All the pieces of his vision of who I am, who I am becoming and who I will be.

Grace me with a little more time.

192,720 hours.

I see

The curve of my waist

The widening of my hips

The gentle re-molding of my face.

New features.

My rebirth.

Girl Child reborn into Baby Woman

Don’t come yet.

Poke me not with questions of when and how and who and why?

I do not have the answers you are searching for.

Awhile longer. Awhile longer.

210,240 hours.

I am still searching through Bruno’s sands

For shards of broken glass

Parts and portions of this vision of me.

The woman in my future who is already here.

One hour.

No, another 24

And an extra 2.

And I’ll give drink to the thirsty well of your endless expectations.

Who I am and why I am.

Is there extra time?

24 hours will not do.

There are more pieces to this vision hidden in Bruno’s falling sands.

More parts unfound than found

More stories untold than told

More pieces buried than gathered in my baby woman hands.

Grow up. Tick tock. No time. Right now. Find love. Have sex. Ovaries. Money. Hormones. Family. Biology. Babies. Society. Marry. Mother. Change. Now.

Just another 24 hours.

Let me find these pieces, the hidden parts to this riddle of a vision of this woman who is me.

219, 000 hours have passed.

And I still need more time.

Contributor’s Bio

Toluwalogo Niji-Olawepo is a writer from Nigeria who finds expression in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Her works have been published in Asterlit, The Xylom, NoisyStreetss, and elsewhere. As a medical student, she finds her zone in the interception of science and art. She considers herself a complex admixture of art and science.

Send Us Your Best Work!

Our submissions window is currently open. We are eager to read your poems, fiction, and nonfiction; send us your best work, today.