I am as brittle as a piece of broom,

& so are you, & so are they. This is why

we could be broken when not gathered. This is why our city is never clean

when it is swept. I know I am a way to the sky.

When hiked out of me, you are the next door,

& they are the other doors. I’m saying the journey

to the sky begins from you, to me, & to them.

But I wouldn’t know if anyone has gotten to the sky

all by themselves. Let them come, let’s see

the measure of breath laced on his life. Let’s see

the lives that have grown out of his life.

Let’s see the windows opened from his heart to

people’s heart, even when their bodies are away

from one another, & their blood isn’t the same.

Let’s see how poor he could be, that all he has

is the riches of the sky, when others are tremendously

gathering one another, needing one another.

Not in a way a dog needs a bone, but in the way

a human needs breath.

Opeyemi Oluwayomi is a Nigerian writer, an English & Literary student of University of Ibadan. His works have appeared or are forthcoming on Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, Ink Sweat & Tears, Art Lounge Journal, Brittle Paper, Shallow Tales Review, Ekstasis Magazine, Eboquil Magazine, SpringNG, and elsewhere. He was the second-runner-up winner of the Shuzia Poetry Competition, 2023 (Journey of the Soul). He holds NCE in English & Music, from Federal College of Education, Abeokuta. Social media handles: Joseph O. Oluwayomi