Christopher Okiri

Christopher Okiri Poems

All I have is ash, frost, from this gust, my fire being gone,
Spent in quick-leaping flames that brightened her eyes
keeping her hands warm and full with alchemist's gold
...

2.

The wrath of god exposes me
As fish averse to getting wet
Fearful of drowning in the water
I seek sanctuary in Noah's Ark
...

3.

Sometimes you just want to punch the air
What victory is to be garnered there
Mining the hollow of mindlessness?
...

I wish to hit and smash a thing of substance
Some thing unmoving like statue in a temple
Some stained-glass window in the distance
Shadow-casting thing like a church's steeple
...

5.

To the heavens we lift tearful eyes for hope
Our hearts beating for the twinkling stars

There is no forgetting this place of rubble
...

Our humanity becomes a shredded mantle
Everyone taking away a piece for keeps
Trophies won from lots cast from desires
All that remains is leafs of fig in our midsts
...

Love really don't last
But like ice cream, worth the while
Especially cold
...

Being confined in cage
Sheltered and catered
Fed, watered, fatted
We are only done for
...

The world is seashore strewn with seashells
Dump site for principalities and for powers
Even the thrones we have come to idolize
Are used-up spirits recycled as human beings
...

Christopher Okiri Biography

Christopher Okiri is a Nigerian poet. Born in Lagos, in 1980. He studied Philosophy at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria. He currently works as a seafarer and lives permanently in Lagos Okiri writes poetry, mostly favoring the traditional form of the genre. He is currently working on prose fiction and a debut collection of his original poems.)

The Best Poem Of Christopher Okiri

Ashes For Beauty

All I have is ash, frost, from this gust, my fire being gone,
Spent in quick-leaping flames that brightened her eyes
keeping her hands warm and full with alchemist's gold

Her hands pull away to find a new flame to cup around
She finds a furnace that casts long shadows around her
Embracing her with arms open wide and heart closed

Now I am cold and need the hands I had kept warm
To kindle my dying ember… to wrap around my heart
To shield me from rage of this gust dousing flames

Sparkles from her new flame are fiery darts shot at me
Pointing at my freezing heart like daggers in cold hands
Too cold to be act of good, too crude for coup de grace

Christopher Okiri Comments

Close
Error Success