Poetry

C&D/Flickr photo

By

Oluwafemi Babasola

nip of dawn: stench

(for the chibok girl)

i know the smell

of dead hopes

hung on trees

like forgotten

ghosts

her stench excoriates

skunks

bald vultures

wouldn’t scavenge

she reeks black vapour

that turns leaves into dust

i know the smell

of dead hopes

she’s the black vapour

i exhale every time

i breathe

nip of dawn: still furled petals

(for the chibok girl)

a budded flower

who would never bloom

budding petals

deprived orangeness

still furled petals

that would never

open their doors

to welcome her

orangeness

a weave of hands

descended

shredded tender buds

before the breath

of morning

trampled buds

rotting under feet

on the forest floor

Oluwafemi Babasola

Oluwafemi Babasola employs poetry and his short stories to express his thoughts and beliefs about life, the inequality in the society and emotions of the heart.

Oluwafemi’s poems have appeared on Bravearts Africa, Praxis Magonline, Kreative Diadem, The Rising Phoenix Review, African Writer, Parousia and Nantygreens. He lives in Benin, Nigeria. You can follow him on twitter @babasola10on10.