POETRY & HEAVEN/HELL
By Uchechukwu Onyedikam
I just set free the wild
theme roaring in
my head:
For I am a collection of word — blood
bones & flesh, born sinner in one religion
where I ate his flesh, got high and drank
his blood & mumbled in foreign tongue — they said I must be a sheep
to the Stranger for I not to go astray
To be an heir of the Maker's paradise
I must be of his Party and vote his name
and be in the number when the
flock is marching on...
Sheep herd on to the slaughterhouse
I have been cursed, and my work
spat on, broke into the arms of penury
where I was left to free doom but
poetry appeared before me again
revealing how I abandoned her
and walked away without looking
over my shoulders — drifted in the
wind of self-doubt
Stripped myself of heaven & hell
tossed both into
the fire
This pen will run dry if I continue to
name my body one by one
So I'm releasing everything to the
waters, let the ocean swallow
all that wanted
my soul
As I give unto myself
what I wish, and poetry
I will take…
I will take…
I will take…
Uchechukwu Onyedikam is a Nigerian Poet/Photographer based in Lagos, Nigeria. BOTN, Pushcart Prize nominee. His poetry has appeared in Amsterdam Quarterly, Brittle Paper, Poetic Africa, Poetry Catalog, Sky Island Journal, Unlikely Stories Mark V, Spillwords, among other publications. He and Christina Chin has co-written and published two poetry chapbooks. He’s a contributor at Mad Swirl.
Artwork Source: “The Depth of an Unknown Season,” Edward Lee
Artist Statement: Memory as image, as a mirror in which the viewer can perhaps see something of themselves.
Edward Lee is an artist and photographer from Ireland. His paintings and photography have been exhibited and published widely, with many pieces in private collections. Visit his website for more information.
The Turning Leaf Journal 