BLOOD AND WATER



the past few days slams your heart 
against some walls, 
your newsfeed reminding you once again 
of that sharp sudden pain she felt.
raw hurt like knives in hashtags, WhatsApp statuses
& Instagram posts stabs you, 

again. 

your wonders wander
how much
the body can take before it turns potato
in boiling waters, its hard skin peeled 
and all that noise tastes defeat 
begetting silence
a wound left to tides of time. 

rape, really, can be some kind of fire. 

somewhere / a girl mutters a prayer, half-alive
carrying her heart on her hands / a dark corner 
becomes a battlefield. 

& again, a boy isn't taught how to tie
his shoelaces right, left to find his feet
& in twisted ways, he finds, to make these shoes fit. 

your head can't seem to find the right hair, 
  in a salon where all seems on the other side of left. 
     your ears feed on the real stories 
         & your lips almost taste blood. 

    you see your sisters, mothers even nieces, 
& you feel helpless, power - a ocean to your drop. 
but you speak, rant and vow regardless 
to be a pivot in any little way you can. 

you know you can be a pebble 
that will one day, reel in the strength of others,
to make a giant ripple - a wave, 
in this river of injustice. 

Odemakin Taiwo Hassan
©️ Hassium Inks ✍🏾✍🏾

MAKE A COMMENT

Previous Next