chasm: i fall knee-deep into the shallows.
             after you, the stars shut their eyes—

the dark earth like algae flourished inside me.
             my body: haystack in a farmhouse—

a dark animal chewing away silently.
             lilith: you who sings a thousand death songs—

i haul the wind like an harp & it seizures my breath.
             bleed: the moon peels its white into my mouth—

the language inside me is a thick mollusc.
             blight: who knew a boy's hunger could swallow the dark?

the thrush outside my window is mourning—
             i, an eclipse: inhabiting a shadow's hut.

by dawn, rain begins to baptise the wreckage—
             an holy ghost: the lawn whitening like snow.

by dusk: the darkening begins/ anew.
             who knew a boy's dark could swallow the hunger?

© 2024 Adesiyan Oluwapelumi