MIRACLE OF THORNS
Roseline Mgbodichinma
In this dream, tears are graffiti forming exhibitions on the walls of my face / It was almost morning before the night came calling out to me / So I wonder the temperament of the sun when the rain tries to force a rainbow from it,
Did you know? I carry landmines on my cuticles
It is why pinching myself is a bomb blast / And pieces of me never make it to reality alive / In this poem I have made another dream / Where my pores inhale because my nostrils are too busy breathing for others
I want to tell you about my experience with the wind / How it scrapped my eyelids open
Till I exchanged sight for debris / But what is life if not a battle of breath
So I negotiate with the oxygen in the roses,
I say Can you give me air without thorns?
Sometimes my mattress is a tomb / Waiting on dawn to perform a miracle / I don’t want this poem to end in a dream / But is living itself not a form of dreaming?
Did you know? I carry landmines on my cuticles
It is why pinching myself is a bomb blast / And pieces of me never make it to reality alive / In this poem I have made another dream / Where my pores inhale because my nostrils are too busy breathing for others
I want to tell you about my experience with the wind / How it scrapped my eyelids open
Till I exchanged sight for debris / But what is life if not a battle of breath
So I negotiate with the oxygen in the roses,
I say Can you give me air without thorns?
Sometimes my mattress is a tomb / Waiting on dawn to perform a miracle / I don’t want this poem to end in a dream / But is living itself not a form of dreaming?
BIO:
Roseline Mgbodichinma is a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University. She is passionate about documenting women's stories. Her work has been published on Isele, Native Skin, Down River Road, Illino, JFA human rights mag, Blue marble review, and elsewhere. You can reach her on her blog at www.mgbodichi.com where she writes about art, issues and lifestyle. Twitter: Rmgbodichinma Instagram: Roseline_mgbo |