Nkemdilim Lilian is a poet, calligrapher, and novelist who hails from Anambra state. She is a final-year Law student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She is passionate about writing.

Brother 

Here, where I know not a soul, 

Not even mine.

There, where they dashed your treasured faith,

Fate contends not.

Here, where we first dreamed, big dreams, 

Without fluffy pillows.

There, where our brothers were ruthlessly slain,

Butchers compete not.

Here, where the bullet dance through fabrics

Of pale skin.

There, where deranged dancers danced dashed dreams,

Off Earth’s schedule.

Here, where I laid in the pool

Of kin’s blood.

There, where neither consolation nor I enquired

The other’s destination.

Here, where I resuscitated your dreams, brother,

We became one.

There, where I tenderly feed your dreams,

Hoping they blossom.

Here, where my head lay without rest,

A fortress indeed.

There, where shattered dreams hover with hope,

And goals adopted.

Here, where I stand with shoulders high,

Awaiting final bow.

There, where we hope to be reunited.

Must we wait?

Here, I hear the silence of absence,

I miss you.

Spirited 

Let the elements hear

worded will and defiant zeal,

proceeding from pale lips,

tongue severely battered, yet better.

Grief’s a worthy chef,

she makes spicy dessert off carcasses.

Armed with untamed resilience,

poised to infuriate optimistic souls.

Nursing marrows unto numbness,

yet I speak, even now,

listen. Consider my voice,

equate it to silent nights

devoid of contentions or

agitations spewed by overfed gluttons.

Like Job, I dine 

with this devoted ruthless chef.

I find that she 

serves dinner on thorny tables.

Dessert on slippery trays,

resisting greasy palms, pregnant envelops…

capable of purchasing pills,

inefficient in resuscitating gasping Lazarus.

Incompetent in consoling weeping Mary,

Conjuring tears from Jesus’ eyes.

Sitting pretty amongst spectators,

mopping at animated tombs.

When like pancakes grief,

piles upon each other fashionably,

speak, I urge you,

much better than teary Mary.

Contributor’s Bio

Nkemdilim Lilian is a poet, calligrapher, and novelist. She hails from Anambra state. She was raised in Benue. She has traveled to Ibadan, Port Harcourt, and Enugu and consequently, had the privilege of interacting with new people and cultures.

Lilian is a final-year Law student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She is passionate about writing, especially creative writing. She started writing in 2012 and has written a little above 60 poems published in The Bullet Magazine, Icreative, and Mocking Owl.

For her, writing is essentially therapeutic. She also views it as a gift that ought to be shared across cultures. She dreams of harnessing the power of poetry and cultivating the same into an antidote for ailing souls. She will certainly touch the world. Her unique style of writing stems from her experience and worldview.

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