Beadwork Poem by Echezonachukwu Nduka

i
from the hills of udi
to the creeks of nembe;
beads knew and named her footfalls.
running a test, four cracked
under the sole of her solleret
and she saw more symbols.
ii
that noon when heat rose
with a crescendo
i watched her wimple wane in folds
soliloquies stole her silence.
she dropped black beads
and counted:
one
two
three
four.
‘return', four of you
‘return', she muttered
and like a poem, set the beads in fits.

iii

four black homeward birds
dropped from the sky and rain
fell amidst sunshine.