“AFTER” A POEM WRITTEN BY WALE OWOADE

After lightning comes rain.

I will go looking for shadows

in their honeymoons. One day

there would be no sky, only

a silhouette searching for itself.

When I am tired of searching

for proof that God exists, I will

pour ashes inside a glass and ask

the moon to smile. This is what

the war left me: a slightly burnt

tongue—a room made from

a broken dirge—a graveyard

in a churchyard—a lone bird with

a bone for a twig—a two legged

dog—fresh ashes waiting to

be named—prayers starting

and ending with ‘ex’—a window’s

jaw dropping at the sight of a city

eating itself. Even when am

lonely I can’t save the world.

When I will begin to heal,

I will rust. I will say

once there was a war, maybe

a love. After rain comes sun,

I will go searching for

a grave with my name on it.

Written by  Wale Owoade

 

 

 

 

ABOUT WALE OWOADE

WALE OWOADE is a Nigerian poet and creative enthusiast who lives and writes in north-central Nigeria. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in About Place Journal, Apogee Journal, Chiron Review, Cordite Poetry Review, footmarks, Radar Poetry, Spillway, The Bombay Review and Vinyl among others. Some of his poems have been translated to Bengali, German and Spanish. He is a recipient of 2015 Tony Tokunbo Poetry Silver Award. Wale is the Publisher and Managing Editor of EXPOUND: A Magazine of Arts and Aesthetics. He also interviews contemporary poets at The Strong Letters and is the Founder and Creative Director of Bard Studio.