MYSTERY
By Jide Badmus
is how a body keeps
secrets from its owner,
how a fever hides in
a crack on the lip or
how the tongue breaks
down walls fists can't.
Mystery is how a body can
be hale & ailing all at once,
how broad the
savannah of heart
that predators & preys
sleep on the same bed,
how fear leaves the kitchen
when it's love's time to cook,
or how kindness takes a nap
while anger burns down the hut.
is how a body keeps
secrets from its owner,
how a fever hides in
a crack on the lip or
how the tongue breaks
down walls fists can't.
Mystery is how a body can
be hale & ailing all at once,
how broad the
savannah of heart
that predators & preys
sleep on the same bed,
how fear leaves the kitchen
when it's love's time to cook,
or how kindness takes a nap
while anger burns down the hut.
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE A POEM ON NUANCE
but words become
handicap
when you need them.
Veins vanish, melt
into skin at the hint
of a doctor's probe.
I've always wanted to write
about the kettle's hiss,
how pain is musical
—how the sky's boil bursts
into crimson dusks
& grows back after
the roosters curse.
How a smile is simple
& laughter is a craft.
How time never grew
a beard.
handicap
when you need them.
Veins vanish, melt
into skin at the hint
of a doctor's probe.
I've always wanted to write
about the kettle's hiss,
how pain is musical
—how the sky's boil bursts
into crimson dusks
& grows back after
the roosters curse.
How a smile is simple
& laughter is a craft.
How time never grew
a beard.
BIO:
Jide Badmus is an engineer, a poet inspired by beauty and destruction; he believes that things in ruins were once beautiful. He is the author of There is a Storm in my Head; Scripture; Paper Planes in the Rain; Paradox of Little Fires; Silk Psalms; and Anatomy of the Sun (and everything beneath). Obaluaye is forthcoming with Flowersong Press, June 2022. He has a Pushcart Prize nomination. Founder of INKspiredng, Poetry Editor for Con-scio Magazine; he sits on the board of advisors for Libretto Magazine. Jide writes from Lagos, Nigeria. He tweets @bardmus |