"About six million residents of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, risk lung cancer as a result of the impact of black soot." —Dr Furo Green

"Over 25, 000 estimated death counts in Rivers State from black soot related health conditions in 2019" —River State Ministry of Health

Smoke eats into the cloud like rust
chewing out the doors of a decrepit bus.
I push the wind in my throat into a cough,
black spittle on my palms, the colour of night—
I've inhaled too much of this darkness, but
I'm human made-for-breath. In spite of my
dread for cigarettes, the air winds me to the
height of a smoker. I cull a song with my breath
of carbon, for my brother’s eighteenth birthday.
My mother wraps her hands into prayer—deep
inside the water—says may the Lord submerge
our sufferings like the water drowning our homes.

© 2024 Abdulkareem Abdulkareem