Absence is knowing that
the Atlantic Ocean has departed
the planet. The
Atlantic is blank on the
map shrouded on a piece of
ginger paper and
only nothing can fill its space.
the earth, your heart
is falling into itself
crumb
ling
like fossils
What do you call falling,
Dripping, shedding, grieving, prayers?
Call them prayers. Your griefs
crumble
into a word of prayer in your first tongue
You lost a soul; the Atlantic departed
You grieve; a memorial prayer falls on your
smoldering lips in the temple
waiting that it does not return to you void.
Living with the two part of us
is admitting that we’re besieged by our thoughts;
The air wears us shrouds to the other world.
Imagination is a battle field
Peace unrecompensed as the air courses;
It is a two way thing:
First it makes you happy as a child,
Innocent — ignorant of the world
And every real thing in the Eden garden.
Life is a tender flower holding you daintily to its root
You conceive every good thing like a sculptor / like an artist.
— life is in every picture you paint. — a fantasy
so close that God knows you want to live.
Second, it comes as a dream in a shrouded night
Everything is dark as an enclosed eye
You alone walk in the dark
and everything you name appears,
Alien — friendly, rough perches on your skin.
You’re far away but you remain with them
You feel everything you call dissonant
Everything you call horror
You feel everything you call a nightmare;
Every odd feeling is a natural gift.
Your devil launches a missile
You are a crusade;
you must be acquainted with yourself
before reality dawns on your withered lids.
You’re a crusade. You’re a crusade.
You did not come here to know peace.
In some arms,
The world is warm
at times, it’s cold.
It guards me like my house —
But I’m ever lonely with the crowd. Still,
A tent of snow overwhelms my heart
It, as geyser on a field,
washes me, embraces me,
It saturates me like saliva in a flute.
Your care binds me somewhere
within your cologne dress,
I took you with me in that dress.
You, an immortal stone
Told me I am strong
and that I am a word;
A way to heal the world.
You entrust a world to me
and shut yourself away —
Away from all my strength
all my strength
Away from all I ever owned
& you told me I’m always alone
even when I was with you
I’m always alone
even in your arms.
Akinwale Peace Akindayo also known as Philip Peace resides in the Northern central part of Nigeria. His writing seeks to portray love, loss, people (the boy) and other themes that intrigue him. His poetry is still seeking home in journals & magazines while some have been published in online literary blogs. He was rated top 50 Nigerian poets, EGC 2018 rankings, under the name Philip Peace, alongside other nominations on BNMagazine. He appears on Facebook via Peace Akinwale while he tweets via @Peace_Akinwale.
