To His Penelope Poem by Shola Balogun

To His Penelope
(for my wife, Hauwa)

1.
Baptize me now in your spring water.
Your name is to me like the fruit wine
Flavoured with aromatic spices.
You touch my heart
With the purest fragrance
Of your lips.
Baptize me now, my Penelope.
2.
The mirror lied.
What new name do I give
To the richness of beauty
I see in you, my honeyed love!
The mirror cannot tell
The true form
Of your graceful beauty.
The mirror lied.
3.
Baptize me now, blessed beauty.
In your voice is the lyric
That none had ever heard before.
Your smiles are worth more
Than a thousand shekels
Of pure shining gold.
You are the honey
In my iced milk.