ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Christtie Jay is a Nigerian Lawyer and writer who writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
Poets Resist
Edited by Samantha Duncan
March 22, 2019
Edited by Samantha Duncan
March 22, 2019
Coffin Cuffs
And this world, a place where gods
die, swallows us without pity.
My son asks what will happen
to those who don’t believe in
god and I say how long will
you deny your existence?
My colleagues at work are
questioning my sanity and I
am too. Wearing joy often
makes one a drunkard.
Tonight at bedtime,
I’ll teach my two year old
to spell his name without an
accent.
My family house is on
fire and there’s not much I can
do about it. My father and siblings
are Muslims. I am not sure what
religion I practise cause I am pissed at
the thought of a god to want to pray
to it and anger is a luxury I can’t bask
in or I let my murderer walk.
In my compound, everyday is a
recitation of eulogies. Memory
is perhaps not the faces forgotten
but those we pray to. I learnt at five,
that the first thing to do if you make
it home was to walk around the rooms
calling everyone’s names. Note: whose
funeral are we attending today? Note:
our house is empty and I can’t help but
cry cause I know some people will never
see peace and joy and let it be still. Poke a
knife at them - into our chests.
I watch my back in spaces
other people dance, and this partly is the reason
I am an atheist who still looks for someone to pray
to for long life. The few white friends I have
called that day and told me they were sorry. I wonder
what good apology does for dead people. Muslim
and black, I sleep with my eyes open.
Poets Resist is published by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
