Padmore Enyonam Agbemabiese (1965 / Abor, Volta Region, Ghana)

I have heard it told
that from the wrecks of time
and life's garbage heap
the lily sprouts

like love surviving storms
strangled by doom-filled prophecies
and maimed by poisons of malevolence
its survival is shocking

I have seen love
cursed by sleazy scripts penned by poison pens
but watered by strained struggling drops
of faith and hope
every gossipy wind burrowing through the slime
and grime of nothingness
misses the road only to return with a soothing secret melody
of inspiration

love like lilies hold pedals of
hope where life is lost in clouds of darkness