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I am that song you nod and hum to but still can’t sing along with, because, sometimes, it’s too deep. Yet, it flows, attracting passersby who know nothing of the sadness within. ...

Three Poems by Toyin Adewale-Gabriel
Three Poems by Usman Karofi

Ikeogu Oke was a Nigerian poet and journalist who died in Abuja on November 27th, 2018, at 51. He hailed from Ohafia in south-eastern Nigeria and was considered a deeply spiritual person. He sought to embody traditional African beliefs, notably wearing the Ohafia war dress to high-profile events to highlight his Igbo heritage. 

Meanwhile, Wanlov the Kuboloro, who joins with M3nsa to complete the rap-artiste duo from Ghana, FOKN Bois, advocates for a young man who has put a coin into the canister: “He has donated for America.” Looking into camera, “Don’t give him troubles when he applies for a visa.”

I shout your name into the dark night A forest of shadows And there is no hyena around to respond Where are you!?

To colour is to accept that there are limits and bounds, that freedom is the deep end of a shallow pond and drowning is not a choice. That our liberties are normative and must issue from the collective fiat of convention, the healthy custom of the many against the wily tempest of the one. Liberty then is a prison of accepted conduct, a glazed casket waiting for us to die.

That being said. What on God’s green earth is wrong with you? I do not understand you at all! You have caused me a lot of trouble, embarrassed me, put me in situations where only the Grace of God saved me, and made me look stupid in places where I was supposed to maintain my steeze. And if you cared to know anything about me, you would know that I take my steeze seriously.

Everything Here

Three Poems by Abduljalal Musa Aliyu

Three Poems by Abduljalal Musa Aliyu. These poems by Jide Badmus were especially chosen for The Bala Selection, a weekly poetry feature curated by Ismail Bala for Konya Shamsrumi.

Three Poems by Jide Badmus. These poems by Jide Badmus were especially chosen for The Bala Selection, a weekly poetry feature curated by Ismail Bala for Konya Shamsrumi.

Movement at the edge of your vision — maybe a man, maybe a shadow. You hold your breath. The darkness folds around you.

Three Poems by Hannatu Bilyaminu