Insomnia, Owls, Ramblings
the weight of the street
has broken my bones
pulled all parts away
fiercely from their joints
like doors from hinges
my skin reeks of grilled
meat mixed with the flavour
of phlegm that fell freely
like raindrops on the streets
it’s nighttime and i feel the
weight of the world in my eyes
yet sleep sits on my roof
with its manic laughter ringing
in my ears like an angry alarm
the owls are here: kindred spirits,
nocturnal knights of insomnia;
eyes piercing through night’s heart
like a watchman’s torch telegraphing
the birth of midwatch
***
After the First Rain
The sky has no tears left
but the earth thirsts still:
a deserter trapped in a desert
for blood, lymph, phlegm
and everything that drips life.
Half-washed, the withered trees
triracially broken in their barks:
white and black and brown,
bland diet in a beholder’s eyes,
at their feet, their leaves on the rot.
After the first rain, the dust dies
for a day or two or three at most:
flesh-pecky birds come home
to play peekaboo with fallen flowers,
the cloud gathers, a reprisal rain.
**************
About the Author:
Frank Eze is a budding poet based in Owerri. His poems have been published on Gnarled Oak, Antarctica Journal, Praxis, WritiVision and other online journals of art. He won the 2016 edition of the Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize. He is passionate about art, especially poetry.
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