Portrait of Quenching a Thirst

By Olowonjoyin Muhammed Sanni

A thirst echoes you into silence & 
Embroiders you with the Déjà vu of places 

That contort into comfort like your mother’s 
Arms even though she’s now fading; like your 

Lover’s bosom even though tankards of regrets 
Can’t fill your crevices; like the firefly that 

Illuminates the darkness of your ennui. By this 
I mean, there’s always cowardice on the road 

Of dreams & everything wants to cobweb into 
Ghosts waiting to consume you; or your hunger. 

Picture this: a boy scampering for peace in his 
Shadows before ululations shackle him into 

Silence, by this you could say, the price we pay 
To find comfort is to constantly fall into discomfort— 

Headfirst, until all that’s left are our voiceless 
Prayers, and the hopeless wails of nations & 

The oasis of hope sputtering out of poems, 
Leaving our thirst unquenched.

Olowonjoyin Muhammed Sanni (A-Per-Se), he/him, studies Biochemistry in University of Ilorin. His works have been published or forthcoming in My Woven Words anthologies, Poemify, Livina Press, Arts Lounge, Nanty Greens, Acropolis Journal, in his head and elsewhere. When he's not tracing biochemical pathways, he's either writing, playing games, reading tweets, or thinking about making his life better. He tweets @aperse_ and on Facebook as Olówónjoyin Muhammed Sanni.