The Concept of Us

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, … Continue reading The Concept of Us

At The Canteen 

By the roadside, the aroma from a pot  of stew overwhelms the pungent smell  of the gutter whose basement offers  the picture of two butchers struggling  with a ballooned goat—skin the  latest victim of searing water. Outside, there is an impatient queue of  different bowls sizzling oil in a big pan  squeezes the face of helpless bush- meat. A woman, with her jiggling underarms,  sends … Continue reading At The Canteen 

Prague, Before it Happened

Image Credit: Leonardo Yip/unsplash Japa—the nudge to leave—had set its tone for long. The teeth of the waiting season were becoming whiter, following the doubt—like a hangover cloud—which dissipated from each email I exchanged with Professor Prochazka, the Chair of the Graduate Board at DALC, Charles University, Prague. “Dear Ndubuisi, many thanks for your proposal. It is interesting and detailed.” That sounded nice, but it … Continue reading Prague, Before it Happened

Unbroken

Image Credit: Eric Pat Noudes/unsplash Untold stories lurk around a black boy whom before daybreak, mastered the language of ghosts, whose palm now weighs the weight of forgotten prayers  but remains unbroken. How he traced his scars, charted their paths, sketched out answers where the world left him dismayed. Untold stories lurk around a black boy who wear flaws like purple linens—his kind of riches. A boy who seeks not his reflection in mirrors  but pieces of wineglass picturing … Continue reading Unbroken