GROUNDSWELL
Prosper Ifeanyi
toppling the years, my uncle once told
me he hit a cat while trying to swerve
through the kerbstones lying expressionlessly
on the doormat of a phonebooth; a man identified
him through his coffee plaid tartan and followed him all
the way home.
dig, he said, for our lives and those of our
fathers depend on it. And I dug for all
I was worth; swaying the shovel deep into
the bare earth until I felt air escape
through my lung. We laid the poor cat to
rest and that was the beginning of the rest
of my life.
me he hit a cat while trying to swerve
through the kerbstones lying expressionlessly
on the doormat of a phonebooth; a man identified
him through his coffee plaid tartan and followed him all
the way home.
dig, he said, for our lives and those of our
fathers depend on it. And I dug for all
I was worth; swaying the shovel deep into
the bare earth until I felt air escape
through my lung. We laid the poor cat to
rest and that was the beginning of the rest
of my life.
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BIO:
Prosper Ifeanyi is a student of English and Literary Studies in Delta State University, Abraka. He is the Editor-in-chief of OneBlackBoyLikeThat Review and a reader for Khoreo Magazine. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Identity Theory, Terror House Magazine, Kalahari Review, Afrocritik, Salamander Ink Magazine, Libretto Anthology, Lumiere Review, Broken Poetry, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and elsewhere. Reach him on Twitter and Instagram @prosperifeanyii |
