Run for the Roses
Nkasiobinnaya Mbonu
Like my mother, I wear my stress on my skin,
I give depression a run for the roses
When I began to count the sand that followed me home,
I know how to pick my skin till I bury her in my nails,
I know that beauty dashes out of the beholder’s eyes swiftly,
I know that suicide notes are love letters signed on period,
A reminder that the sky is full of burned-out stars,
One is my father, and the other one is my brother
Two are my best friends, and the other two are my uncles,
I know that faith is the flame that burns in my breath,
The anger that brought me to God’s feet,
I know how to count the stars under the moonlight,
A reminder that life is as flickering as the night sky,
It sends souls to rest for their breath,
I know to stay awake to keep dreaming
Because mornings come with loud noises and sermons,
And sometimes know to turn dreaming into brevity,
The prolixity of nothingness and its silence,
I know to pray for rain, but it storms when it does,
I know one day I will not fight back again,
Pretend to hold my pen to the sky
Till it draws the last strand of my breath
To write a story you will forget in my grave,
And the mornings will still come with loud noises and sermons
Nkasiobinnaya Mbonu is a poet and photographer currently based in Lagos, Nigeria. She studied Biochemistry at Babcock University, Nigeria. Writing/photography/Editing are more than hobbies to her. Her works explore themes of grief, personal growth, womanhood, love, and the complexity of human emotions. Her work has appeared in The Elevation Review, Poets Choice, Meniscus Literary Journal and elsewhere. She is a semi-finalist for the 2020 Grapes Poetry Prize, Finalist of the 2020 Atlantis Award, and shortlisted for AWC2021: Stories That Touch. She enjoys reading, studying, and spending time with experienced people and their tales to tell.
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