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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. 

Hence, while the historian's mind is riddled with events, the poet's is bursting with colour, having memory as its minefield. However, there is no fixity to verse. Not in its fidelity to what was or its facility for what will follow. Both past and future are the canvass upon which imagination subsists. Along the way, it rids itself of all ethical sympathies.

It's always easier to distance oneself from the parts of us that we don't understand or cannot control and for me that is my giant bleeding heart that wants to adopt all the puppies in the world and give everyone ice cream to make them all less sad about capitalism.

We shared a chemistry because books catalysed the reaction that steered our attraction. We fell for each other because books were the gravity that pulled us together. We could fly because books gave us wings. We loved because we were in love with books. We were books, there were pages on our souls.

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