ISSUE 5 | JULY 2022 | REINCARNATION
“death is an end to one life only & a gateway to another; man must be reborn, for reincarnation is a spiritual necessity. “ (rooke)
when great narratives die from
wrong endings there is still
music
but this is not so in our story
this is circuit this is
border-crossing this is
the igbo cosmologythe great
pilgrimage between life
& death
& life again this long history of
a people nameless holding onto
each other within arms reach
this trembling in the dark before the
aftertime
these songs
of the mourners at our deaths
& the ululations at our births these
many names we were called by
in our previous lives that died
with our memories before our last breath
before the great procession
before rebirth before me
before you before us
before tomorrow
i dream of keys without lock
death is not the end
death is not—
caterpillars die & are reborn
as butterflies birds go into the earth
to become songs
do you even understand this
this science this carbon-cycle
our people call this ịlọụwa
this intermigration between
two realms this flesh
become dust become
molecules become foetus
this an old death
a new beginning
Henry Strange
Henry Strange, born Liberian, is a versatile Nigerian artist. He has pieces of literature published or forthcoming in Eboquills, Brittle Paper and elsewhere. When he is not in the company of people, he enjoys the solitary of typing away behind his laptop & smoking his favourite brand, Chesterfield. You can find him on Twitter @hxnry_strxngx
Photo by James McDonald on Unsplash