Titilope Sonuga

This is how you heal the wound

i
cleanse it with salt water
it is the only way
...

I am
gap tooth black girl
back corner of class
scribbling left-handed
...

I wanted to write you a poem
Etch you bold and timeless
Wanted to sing your praise
Find words to describe you flawless
...

When the world unravels before you
and even your dreams are crumbling stones
when everything you dare to touch
is set on fire
...

Centuries from now
when the archaeologists
shake the dust from your bones
let them marvel at this thing
...

It is this deep, dark, empty thing
caught between chest and throat
begging lips for relief in words.
The noise of 2 million heavy sighs
...

"No matter who my daughter is when she comes back,
she is my daughter and I want her back home."

i.
...

In the dream
I close my eyes and count backward from 276
the girls crawl feet first from their hiding places
behind the curtains where their feet stick out
...

i

By what name do we call the girl
when she comes back?
...

I come from a place
where mothers go to battle each day
with a baby strapped across their backs
another still clinging from their breast
...

i
What do we do with the bodies?

How do we gather them up
or know which arm goes where?
...

I once saw a man on fire
a gasoline soaked rubber tire around his neck
arms flailing like he was trying to fly
...