i’m relieved at the opportunity
to erase & relive,
to dance around like falling leaves
on breezy mornings that clatter teeth
and lock joints.
& though my bones stiffen as
broken branches,
my arms are widening to appreciate
even badly paid pipers
and mechanical music.
i dance to cyclical grief,
auto-tuned syncopations,
memories covered in a blanket of soil.
i miss my mother
she would be proud of how hard
i have learned to love the dead.
lately, i have also learned to forget
the salty taste of a broken tear.
acceptance is smeared across my skin
like a balm during harmattan.
i seek myself in the beauty of language
and poetry.
there, i find that my life is a belly of sand
& i will rise from the dead in the end.
Author Bio: Adeyinka has Ibibio parents who love Yoruba and decided to experiment with his name. He is everything beautiful, loves beautiful women, and loves poetry as much as one loves one’s name.