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
...
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
...
Centuries from now
when the archaeologists
shake the dust from your bones
let them marvel at this thing
...
Titilope Sonuga (born in Lagos) is a Nigerian-Canadian poet, writer, actor and performance artist. She has taken the stage at festivals in Lagos, New York, Edmonton and Toronto among others. Her first collection of poems, Down To Earth, won the 2011 Emerging Writer Award of the Canadian Authors’ Association. Her Spoken Word album Mother Tongue was released in 2013. In 2015 she performed at the Inauguration of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.)
How To Heal A Wound
This is how you heal the wound
i
cleanse it with salt water
it is the only way
to release the poison
the tears will come
let them
ii
you will need to apply
a healing balm
the only cure for hate
is more love
be generous in your application
iii
Let the wound breathe
do not cover it until it
festers and rots
speak it then let it go
let it go
iv
Do not ever pick the scab
Dear Admin, I am a final student of the University of Ibadan, English department. I want to use the collections of Titilope Sonuga's poems for my final year project. But I do not know where to get them. Kindly help with at least an online store that I can get " This Is How We Disappear" and " Abscess" . Thank you, My email - discreetpetersgmail Contact- +2347065440917