A Pantomime of Love's Tragedy, The Marigold of a sunflower as a Weapon of Choice Elias Udo-Ochi
I am standing alone in the middle of this poem, fine specimen for the grief whittling at my feet. In another one, I had written my lover to be morning light & by noon, his ashes stayed ringing in the wind. Unbind me, this unsteady love. I am giving my body to questions the universe will never answer—a star falling, how do I orbit past this pain? This is not the life I chose, when I broke the jaws of death to stare at the sun. Dear Earth, ease me into the horrors prowled to prey. Here, the distance drives a nail into our testimony, & I am imagining the strangers we are becoming, teacups & cuddles. You love me? You could have held the sun in your hands, & I’d be a sunflower. What tragedy to live in this world, shelling body parts for broken souls. Tell me, brother what fire feeds your joy?
Elias Udo-Ochi lives in Benin City and volunteers during the day for a Global Fund KP initiative. Otherwise, he is a grown ass man with two dogs and a cat. He is a member of the Deadliners, a collective of badass Nigerian Creatives. Say hi to him on Twitter @eliasandrevn.