These three poems by Ola Ifatimehin were especially chosen for The Bala Selection.
The Bala Selection is a bi-weekly poetry feature curated by Ismail Bala for Konya Shamsrumi, showcasing distinctive new voices and resonant works from across Africa and beyond. Through his discerning eye, each selection highlights the craft, music, and emotional clarity that define contemporary poetry in its most luminous form.
Ismail Bala is a poet, translator, and critic whose work bridges classical poetics and modern sensibility, and whose mentorship has shaped a generation of emerging African poets.
Forks and Straws
She’s a blend of first fruits
Cocktail of a thousand marvels
Smoothie to quench for
I pine after her apples
Praying for a sip
Of her love in a cup
She hands me forks and straws
Tilting her head sideways
As she flips her hair
Breaking my melons
Into a million delighted pieces.
No Cup of Tea
The only thing more beautiful
Than a cup of tea
Simmering in its hotness
Is your smile laced
With a redness of your lips.
You are no cup of tea
Yet that bag dipped in nude
Dark waters
Sends ripples deep in my soul
I just want to sip.
Recital
I love the way
You render my poems
How your voice unbuttons
The nakedness of my verses
How your pauses
Make my intents sigh at attention
With ease.
I love the love you make
To poetry
How you gently bite
The ears of her consonants
And roll your tongue on the skin of her vowels
To a climax of perturbed expressions.
I am in love with your timbre
Her tonalities, evocative
Casting spells upon the senses
In my stanzas
Till they mean that
Which they mean not
Only you
And your bewitching connotations.
About Ola Ifatimehin
Ola Ifatimehin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Performings Arts, Bayero University, Kano. He writes poetry in English and Engausa.
