Café 24 || Winner: I swear, Bread, You Are an Unrepentant Casanova, by Káyọ̀dé Ayọ̀bámi

Cafe 24 is a bi-weekly competition aimed at budding poets in Nigeria run under the umbrella of Konya Shamsrumi, an African poetry publishing company based in Nigeria with a stipend attached to the winning poem alongside publication on their website.

Cafe 24 is run by Community Manager, Omokafe H. Dennis.

Theme: Food (December, 2023)

I Swear, Bread, You Are an Unrepentant Casanova 
by 
Káyọ̀dé Ayọ̀bámi.


Yesterday, I saw your brown
back, Were you not luring
butter into your embrace?
Shame on you, you forgot
the oath you took with egg?
She got so mad that her
shell broke and her yoke
flew into a raging oil. If I
am lying, ask God to drown
you in a pool of tea. Ask
God to strip you naked
in the kholed eyes of beans—
but I won't be shocked
If you swear with the
nakedness of moin-moin,
for you've been cursed
With incest. The daughters
Of àkàrà aren't even spared
From your succulent lips &
Your soft chest of lust.
But what can a poet do
to rescue You? This poem
isn't an elixir to how you gaze
at the nudity of a hot stew.
But I will enjoy your show
Of shame, for that's what
Makes horses gallop in my
Belly without a stumble.

Author
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Hannah Omokafe Dennis

Hannah Omokafe Dennis Is A 24-year-old Journalist, Voice-Over artist and UNFPA Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Rights Advocate Living In Nigeria. She Currently Serves As A Community Manager In Konya Shamsrumi AndHas Some Of Her Written Works Published On Writer's Space Africa and audio stories on Genti media. She Enjoys Using Words And Her Voice To Tell Stories. She Tweets @Omokafe_forite.

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