mayehun = refuse me not = touch & follow
: a woman is led to slaughter
gbetugbetu = hypnosis = refuse me not
: & the gods are skilled butchers
ase = refuse me not = obedience is better
than sacrificing
an eye to fistfuls of rage.
: a wall’s silence is not an invitation, to build a door.
amudo is simply how a man obtains
license from the spirit world
to enter a woman’s body, without a yes
& the gods hold her down.
the concept of leaving
(after adedayo adeyemi agarau)
because leaving-
1.
…is a type of death, the sacrament
of absence: grandpa stubs his toe
whenever he recollects the history of his lips
how once, the cadaver before him used to suck on them.
2.
… is a type of resurrection. to tear open a wall
in search of a ghost. to tear open a lover
in search of a vow.
you have not really left
if your name is a wildfire
razing my breast.
3.
…is living in between sighs, as a religion.
the ritual of escape, of biting into a rock
to know what the ancestors taste like.
4.
…is running on four limbs, in tears
as the spirit of god haunts you
in a dream.
5.
…is relief.
…is belief in the power of the sun
to lick up water, gathering in the lungs.
…is a kind of prophecy
whispered by the full moon
to the wolf, basking in its light.
Pamilerin Jacob is a young poet & mental health enthusiast. His poem was shortlisted for the Ken Egbas Prize for Festival Poetry 2017. He is the author of Memoir of Crushed Petals (2018). Pamilerin is a sucker for chocolate ice cream & Khalil Gibran.
Instagram handle: @jacques_wharley
Twitter handle: @ibiyemiolawale