what's the antibody against
grief ?
is it a man carrying the earth in his
lungs stifling? or
a man pouring his sins into a
lavatory filling weightless?
or a man that bends his body
into a bow & arrows lamentation
to the sky until a bird is hit
& descends into his mouth singing
birdsongs? & when the stench of sorrow
overrides his body he plants roses
in the tomb of his shallow fists
waters it with the droplets
of his tears & garners grains of grief
I am afraid of what
extent of grief pulls a man
into Judges where he becomes both
captive & captor like
a body that refuses to slide into its
shell for safety
in the name of grief a man hangs
himself with a knife in his hand
he baby-sits himself on a chair bed
stretching his breath until it’s long
enough to crossover the night &
still survive tomorrow
perhaps grief is not a pathogen
but a kind of gas that poison our
oxygen & leaves us gasping for the
bittersweetness of life.
Chinedu Gospel is a young Nigerian Poet. He writes from Anambra. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Nantygreens, Praxis magazine, Rising Phoenix, Eboquills, African writer, Fahmidan journal among others. He tweets @gospel79070806