Poems about a love trolling down in memory — from Dacious Kasoka — Nyampeji In an old photograph- you’re sitting with him on a bench somewhere in Kalingalinga still the poet you love, your bodies strewn in the yellowed sunrise, he is making you laugh in a language foreign to your lips, he squeezes your tiny laughter into a poem & names you a …

A story about guilt and fear — from Nigerian American Omobola — Awakened to desire, To a wilderness within. Thorns and thistles bruise the heels. A deep dive into an ocean of error. Drowning in raging waves. Thrown against stone embarkments. Flip. Bones become chalk. Flop. Wounds leak blood. No escape. Love. The four-letter word is thrown around often — the pedestrian…

A story about the never-ending feeling to feel understood and comforted when there is little to feel comfort in — from Chizi — ‘Why don’t you visit me anymore? I miss your face, the warm embrace you have given me and the peace that came with it. Did I put up a wall from your visions? Please forgive me if I did. I plan to marry soon. The never ending torment of circumstance…

An essay about the implications of being born into the hilarious and often heart-breaking country that is Nigeria — by Plangdi Neple — To be young in Africa, particularly Nigeria — where men of God can be dibias and angels are the happiest of sinners — is to know that like it or not, your country will serve you breakfast on a golden tray teeming with maggots. If you are unfamiliar with this…

Two poems about the scene of the morning and industrious women — from Nigerian Ridwan Badamasi — Dawn Dawn as new flesh. The sun — a rim of light, a slice of color across stretches of corrugated zinc. A dog breaks the silence. It rained last night — or did I merely long for it in my sleep? I breathe in air devoid of a city’s torturous exhale. Farther in the distance, a…

A story about a remarkable parable of human survival against the odds of poverty, racism and terrible circumstances in a foreign land — by Calvin Chikwata — Hours pass and the sun is hidden far in a chasm of its tail-fin. The coldness of Birmingham rips the hostility of empyrean warmth with a silent wind engulfing a steady hand. One that slowly nudges the hidden immorality of my life at a minute from its resting place, from…

Three poems about moving to what moves you, better space, and journeys into the future — from Lawalson Ifeoluwa — Home Beautiful and enchanting Of Rest and calm Where grasses and flowers dance happily And gleams of sunshine in the morning Our solace Just me and you, living in this space Warm memories as the day goes by Sweetness never been this sweet Our favorite part of the world Where we resolve our…

Two poems about the female child whose activities are curtailed due to societal norms, and then she lives under the covers of pretence — from Similoluwa Taiwo — The Virgin I am a virgin, she says But I see her under the covers of the night The darkness hides her shame As her bosom gets pressed And she giggles like a child Her innocence washing away I am a virgin, she tells But I find her behind the curtains The paint shields…

A story about parenthood and the children facing it — from Patrick Shyaka — It all started about the time things usually closed, when out of the blue, Paula and I heard loud knocks on the front door, accompanied by shouts and sobbing. It was Elaine. She was crying out loud, and fell into Paula’s arms as soon as the door opened. “I don’t…