Chukwu Emmanuel: On This Side, I Call My Body A New Name
my therapist calls me fragile/ meaning after she checks on me/ she still concludes i’m broken.– for N. I have never been afraid to tell my story/maybe this way I will know this body better/& my fears made easy and accessible/like how it is a…
Josh Effiong: Diaries, Dreams & Dues
When we were born, happiness was without a price tag and we felt our heart bubbling with joy every time the cloud gathered. For the sound of raindrops was tinkling cymbals to our spirits as we ran with a little piece of clothing on our…
Gabriel Dkings: Slavery
Once we were slavesSold to the tragedy of lifeBeaten by the rain of sorrowSailed on the boat of difficultyLost in the forest of fearFound in the middle of confusion Where frustration became our new names Our minds were chained with liesSo we sang songs with…
Olajuwon Joseph Olumide: A Note to Destiny
Obianuju, My oracle says I should find purpose before partner. How shortsighted mysteries can still be. Even mysteries cannot fully demystify this epiphany that I will be. Before I begin to learn the fatherly lore of earthly wisdom & philosophies, somehow I had known who…
Returning Home III
By the time Fatima got to her mother’s hut, she was already very exhausted. She landed heavily at the doorstep. Her mother who had been awakened by footsteps approaching her hut was peeping through the window to see who it was. “I would catch the…
Gideon Emmanuel: Cobwebs
How do our lives dangle in the scale of fate, Scared of a balanced end in the trap of death How does our conscience lay ambush to our trust And our mistakes like preys, lay When shall our thoughts be free from lust And our…
I Wriggled Out of His Grip- A Sexual Assault Story
Are sexual assault stories like yawns? That when someone in a room O-s his mouth in a yawn, we suddenly feel like yawning?
Adesina Ajala: A Letter To Noroh
Dar(l)ing Noroh, It’s been eons my phone giggled to your fond calls, and for countless nights, I’ve hushed to WhatsApp, to binge on your soothing words only to get my eyes wet again when your D.P. reminded me of wilted wreaths and faded epitaphs. In…
Naphtali Festus Adda: insomnia
the night is here again, my body is perfumed with a cologne of thoughts, of grief, & of grief still – the rain of the eyelashes is falling lightly lightly on my cheeks it’s 10:39 PM already & my brother – a sleepy-snorer is calling…
Returning Home II
The quick steps behind her frightened her. It seemed the person was trying to catch up. Fatima wondered what she would do if she was in any sort of danger. She was heavily pregnant, much too so to take to her heels or fight back…
