Tolu Akinwole

Like a sudden appearance of death,
The image intrudes on my vision,
Trampling underfoot every obstructing thought
Like a hurt man bent on revenge,
...

patch this gap -
this widening abyss
in my heart
...

Madness -
How you hate that word!

But are we not mad -
...

She slipped away
softly
silently
but after a long duel
...

a loud bang,
and that was it.
it uncorked the bottle locked within,
yanking off the gentle blanket
...

My dear any-me,
It is from the bottomless bottom of my heart
That these words ooze forth
With the ease of a pregnant woman.
...

...

The early morning bird never seems to get tired,
She sings and sings and sings enchanting tunes of the past.
But wait a minute, what do I hear?
A piece that cuts through my soul
...

What will it take the monkey
to denounce its friendship with the banana?
I don't know.
...

...

The finest cemetery in town
Festooned with distant flashing lights
Changing colours like the chameleon's skin
Will sit today on the feathered seat of time
...

my caged bird's flown away;
it's gone away with the rainbow,
and now my cage is hungry.
...

In the morning,
They cook the food in a large pot,
Telling us that when it's done
We will eat and refuse to eat.
...

See them caught in the throb of the drum,
Jumping and flying, exposing their heads
To the mocking eyes of the sun
...