& again, like a guitarist I want to string tears into melody,
untack this wound from the bloom of aches. I want to lyric a song and not feel
a stone in my throat. I want to say morning and not mean mourning.
I want to touch a seed till it florets into a nation of seeds.
yes, I want to kiss my lover and not singe her lips with grief.
but here, nothing stays alive in the mouth of a boy. I mean,
in this body metaphor-ed with gourd, nothing edges towards the tower of laxity.
Ajani Samuel Victor, Frontier II, is a black writer and poet. He was the winner of the "prisoner of love poetry contest," a Semi-finalist at the 2020 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize and he was also shortlisted for the 2020 Kreative Diadem Annual Writing contest. He is one of the contributors to SPRINNG Afro-eros anthology. His recent works are/forthcoming on Snapdragon journal, Blue Marble Review, WRONGDOING magazine, RIGOROUS, East French Press, Eremite, The Shallow Tales Review, PRAXIS, Augment Review, and elsewhere. Say hi to him on Twitter @solvic16.