For J. Poem by Padmore Enyonam Agbemabiese

between us
lies a desert where prayers of David
can force a rose to spring from the sand

between you and me
is the vision of a beach full of allamanda
encircled by thorns of bougainvillea

yesterday you were torn between
weed and flower
between a tourist and the true paradise

forgive me
for this morning’s sake
I am in the melting fields
crumbling quietly in unsteady skies

you have known pools of fresh tears
tolled by golden bells of the Tourist Board
they’ve shaken roots of your plants

today, I’ve been left all night in the fridge
danced between shadows and light
walked like lines of ants with boulders of sugar

to my surprise and betrayal
I have been crowned
by wreaths of false laurel
drawn by a veiled figure
to own packets of an artificial sugar
this story grows in the art of poetry hardening me

but for now, between us
this road on which now rises with all power
berries will redden and delight spring like fountains
and frozen lakes crack into maps green with lilies