For my loves
I could remember them forever. Those
days whence I was whole, human. &
palm trees bristled with gilded teeth.
I could tell you that, for a while, the
world had long ceased to matter. All
there was was us, four souls, four
tributaries
of the same river. All there was was
the days when you could touch me.
& not be marked with gloom.
I became so light I luminesced, I
feathered. & a cup of laughter was
always at the ready,
was always frothing at our lips,
& no heart was twitching in my mouth.
There was a moment where, stunned by
the joy that had possessed me, I realized
nothing was on fire.
Such miracle, I became silent, like the
moment before the eggs began to break.
When I say break, I mean hatching,
not destruction.
When I say break, I mean I had never
thought of becoming whole again. But
every time I opened my mouth,
there I was, reborn.
Tell me, who said your purpose on earth
was just to burn? Dear friend, come.
Put your ears to the ground. Listen.
Even the earth yearns for the coolness of
rain. Dear friend, hold me in your hands.
I promise I am not all ashes & ache.
You can start from the moment where
the phoenix leaps out of the flames.
Scarlet, & fully formed. Out of every
instance of death,
life anew.
Marvellous Mmesomachi Igwe
Marvellous Mmesomachi Igwe, Swan X, is a budding poet from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He has been published in The Cloudscent Journal, Serotonin, Isele, The Dawn Review, Poetry Sango-Ota, Poetry ColumnNND amongst others. He is the winner of the 2024 Kukogho Iruesiri Samson Poetry Prize, co-winner of the 2024 Poetry ColumnNND Chapbook Award, the 2024 Folorunsho Editor’s Prize for Poetry and a finalist for both the 2024 Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize and the 2024 Dawn (Review) Prize for Poetry. You can find him listening to his favorite singer Lana del Rey, or writing poetry. He tweets @mesomaccius.
Photo by Alex Bertha on Unsplash