Sheol: A body at rest
They say the soul breaks like unleavened bread,
so birds can peck them into their gizzards
& grind them into songs. Do you know
the origin of Sheol? A house inside a man
that keeps him at rest. In that house is another
house & another house that refuse to answer
to the knelling of death bells which keeps
echoing in his bones. Stitch upon stitch,
no threads can suture a torn soul. Like
scalpels never divided it in the first place.
So how often shall
we continue to memorize how to patch
a soul back to the body. Seven times?
Seventy times seven? Each time my eyes
lashes flinches from fright, every silhouette
is some wilted root re-greening, breeding
chrysanthemums in its chest. I gaze
closely & it's just my brother again
reliving the night when he died.
so birds can peck them into their gizzards
& grind them into songs. Do you know
the origin of Sheol? A house inside a man
that keeps him at rest. In that house is another
house & another house that refuse to answer
to the knelling of death bells which keeps
echoing in his bones. Stitch upon stitch,
no threads can suture a torn soul. Like
scalpels never divided it in the first place.
So how often shall
we continue to memorize how to patch
a soul back to the body. Seven times?
Seventy times seven? Each time my eyes
lashes flinches from fright, every silhouette
is some wilted root re-greening, breeding
chrysanthemums in its chest. I gaze
closely & it's just my brother again
reliving the night when he died.
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BIO:
Chinedu Gospel is an emerging poet. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in the rising phoenix review, praxis magazine, Eboquills, African writer magazine, Fahmidan journal, sledgehammer litmag, Feral poetry and elsewhere. He tweets @gospel79070806
Chinedu Gospel is an emerging poet. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in the rising phoenix review, praxis magazine, Eboquills, African writer magazine, Fahmidan journal, sledgehammer litmag, Feral poetry and elsewhere. He tweets @gospel79070806
