… and I saw a new heaven and a new earth
for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away
A man
who had grown a strand of hair
with every death he had seen
told me he was born bald
but too much death
had given him too much hair
He gouged his eyes
but could still smell the smoke
that burnt pieces of his name in Borno
All he has is stories
His grandfather
in his quest for the living water
struck the side of the crucified Christ on Calvary
but even the living water came with a touch of sin
He wept
and begged me to give him eyes
I swear by my mother’s hut
I didn’t know what to tell him
Chukwuemeka Akachi is a poet. He is the current editor of The Muse, a journal of critical and creative writing. His works have appeared in African Writer, Kalahari Review, Tuck Magazine, The Muse, and elsewhere. He has been a winner of James Nnaji Prize for poetry. When he is not thinking of the best way to kill himself, he is trying to make himself happy. He is currently working on his first poetry chapbook.
