life is beautiful,
yes, a beautiful bitch.
always been one-sided, between life and me,
the bubbles for living going off in silent
pops of wrecked expectancies.
these lines are the imbalances brewing
in a teapot, the fade of shiny green
into rusty brown, they are the stretch marks
that show the strains on my heaving heart.
the mouthed whispers of the silent streets,
the innocent giggles of kids saying “odd man”,
parroting the tales told in parents’ chambers,
the mock in neighbours’ sympathy,
peace is an amnesiac’s memories,
out of mind, yet poking within reach.
death is a body of calm water:
but i am aquaphobic.
they all say i should face my fears,
so i will invoke mungo
to lead me into rediscovering this river niger.
this is not a note,
this is the floating bubbles, forming
and popping in seconds ticking,
as drowning draws in darkness, till
day dawns, and I find the light,
and peace.
Theophilus Femi Alawonde is a Nigerian polyglot, who couples academics with campus journalism. He writes poems, essays, fiction and non-fiction, and has been published by www.wrr.ng, Lunaris Review, The Bamboo Hut, The Heron’s Nest, and other international journals. He loves trying out different poetry forms. He is in his second year of study for a B.A. (Ed) French at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan. He can be reached via alawondetheophilus17@gmail.com @lil_allawonder on Twitter or @theo.lil.allawonder on Instagram