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Minna Salami

eBook Edition

Copyright © 2013 Minna Salami

Published by Weedmark Publishing

Ottawa Canada

ISBN of Print Edition: 978-1-291-31161-7

All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced

without express written consent of the author

Acknowledgements

To write poetry requires wells of inspiration.

I’m thankful that the daily proceedings of life provided the inspiration to put this collection together.

For the times when motivation didn’t come automatically, I’m grateful to those who helped evoke inspiration in me.

First and foremost, my dearest äiti, my mum, whose strength, support and love always motivates me, and my cherished dad, whose loving guidance and wisdom have provided me with enthusiasm.

Secondly, I’m grateful to the Free-write-Wednesdays group who provided an encouraging space to read and share poetry.

Last but not least, I’m thankful to everyone who has read my poetry over the years, and provided me with valuable and heartening feedback.

Contents

I. She Loves

II. She Feels

III. She Journeys

I. She Loves

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I want to tell you that I love you

But I’m not sureIf I loveYouAs much as This space

Of thoughtlessness Capped with This emotion Called blank

So if I ever tell youI’ll pluck the wordsPretend they’re fruitHanging from the branchesOf a late summer tree

Minna Salami 7

Naked – part I

Beats ofEmotional residueEcho from under the ego

She can’t stand the noiseSo she switches on daytime TV to shut it upZapping between naked branchesLife shifts seasons

Hollow days become suffi ciently beautifulAnd her daze Returns The leaves to green

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Detail

Even in his presence She liked to think of him in detailSlanted shadows Symmetrical cheekbones The cadenceIn theWords heSpoke

His chapped bottom lip SkywardAgainst a droopy canvas

She learnt toLove in compartmentsLimited frames where More than she could ever love intactOne segment at a timeDetail by detailShe got the picture

Minna Salami 9

Rape

How many hungry handsHow many poundingSweaty fl esh-Covered heartsFilled with hatredAnd erogenous clotsHow many greedyMerciless eyesMust I begTo please please pleasePlease

Stop

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Gentle Man

I like that precision Of character In your neck movement

Sharp lizard-likeAnd your eyesRevealing a river

Of drowning depths No one has ever returned from

Touch me Touch these wordsSmell the inkSmell meMake our scent a homeIn your gentle centre

Minna Salami 11

Naked – Part II

No sway of chiffon to tickle my hips No cotton to crinkle by my waist No cashmere to blanket my dreams No fl ax linen in OctoberNo azure ribbons to remind me of the sea No silk pins to hold up white laced dreamsNo diamante for nights with drunken starsNo fi ne point needles to stitch batik patterns No seams and hems to cover those parts of me

Which I want you to see

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For you

I fi ll the moon with milk With porcelain waves ofThick creamTo drown you in milk-white memory When we make love

I pour indigo into the ocean Sprinkle salt on her surfaceSo she can tickle your feet with Colgate blue foamUnder the dim fermented moon

I set ablaze the sunSo he burns when we strike The world with heatGrass and grey butterfl iesDaylight and waterfalls

I fi ll gardens with jade-green chlorophyllSo they don’t form a tunnel ofInvisible wordsAnd thorny twigsWhere our grapesGrow wildly

Minna Salami 13

Silence

I want the sound of your breathWhen you inhale new thoughtsI want your open nostrilsTo readilyTake in my presenceI want to feel you exhaleFeatherlike on my shoulderComforting on my heartTicklish on my lipsI want some momentsOf breathingPureYou

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Wilderness

I amFree as a metamorphosed butterfl yAs the howls of wolves at night

The blood that fl ows through my veinsBears a gilded patina

Confi nement has released Its arsenic pegs Pinching my ears from the wind’s séance

For too longMy wings were crippledAnd like a penguin longing to fl yI failed to seeThat freeness is not in fl ightBut in stable feet

Minna Salami 15

Dear Freedom,

I write to tell you this story which Grew in fears that like a defl ated balloon, I’d become limpI could start by saying that just as a tropical bird In a fi eld of snowI feared my feathers Could keep me neither afl oatNor warm

That’s how simple the truth isI pray it suffi ces to say, FreedomThat as I leave a distant road behindI am ready for the unknown And for your companionshipI’m truly blessed and

Sincerely,Grateful

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Impermanence

You long for eternity, butterfl yWheeling your wings withDeath shrieksAnd guilt–patterned mirages

In life such beauty butWhistles and croaksScare youMore than fear Itself

I clap your wingsSuch oblivious character!Showing off your capeTo fl owers that could care lessNow that you are gone

Minna Salami 17

Poetry

Poetry says Life is an embodiment of emotionOf sorrowOf joy of love of fearShe saysA spine is made of stories Of love of fear of joyOf sorrow

Poetry knowsEverything observesEverything wearsA haloOf its own conscience

Poetry asksWhat makes the extraordinary sullenWhat makes lovers Look to herFor the wordsThey own

II. She Feels

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Character

I feel like a butternut squashWell-roundedGolden and gooey inside Heavy on top If you turn me upside-down

I feel like an Italian leather shoeResilient, soft and adaptableExperienced and worn inPerfect arch and curves

I feel like the colour purpleEccentric and unappreciatedBold and beautifulRegalMental state between red and blue

I feel curlyYouthful and full of laissez faireEntangled in a nest of new lifeLike the grass in late April

I feel like a typewriterOut of control open-minded essential stableRebellious and revolutionary

As I strike through life with inkClink Clonk Clink Clonk Clink

III. She Journeys

Minna Salami 21

Nigeria

Patriotic verses Pivoting on lull democracyMiss the note

The songsOf old dictators Arising compatriotsTaint border-speckled hearts

Births aristocratic poetsFoolsWith miens of teachersDeluded By snake-bittenWing-tatteredLand

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Escape

What gives it away is not The layer of dust That blankets the fl owerpotsLined along the patio

But the disturbing sense That no matter howShe polishes themThey won’t shine

The woman who once was unburnableNow avoids the fl ames of memoryProbes for elusive messages While watching CNN By the poolside

Minna Salami 23

Oya

In another lifeThe river is her pool. Oresund, Hudson

Are too coldShe swimsThe Niger From one end

The current Parts her Into a realityOf sticky hopeOf tender fear

From the other endDeep in the fjords Of a new damp dawnShe sails

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Rest

On the seventh day she discovered That genetically modifi ed apples taste all rightThat the scent of oak offers a lacunaBetween worldsAnd that winter frost freezes longingInto nostalgia

On the seventh dayThe neon bannersPumped up her paceMade a pulseArtifi cially sereneYet tame

Minna Salami 25

Niggerman

Macho chronicles sharpen The swords With which you go to warAgainst the mind of deprivation

You scoff at the opportunityTo retain the wordsOffered

By faraway ancestressesWarning you If you put it all in your sexYour mind becomes impotent

You rather not You rather buildAnd erectThe pillars of your ghetto

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Genesis

Warmth

Where I fl oatIn the springs of your womb

Love

Where you harbour Me as a port of asylum

Safe

Where I’m anchored To the loop of life

ReadyOr notTime dreadfully arrives To touch carefullyThe ripples

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Evolution

At fi rst, the crushed stonesIlluminatedAbsoluteGodliness

Illuminated absolute godlinessWas the hymnThey chantedAt fi rst

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Dissonance

The peopleSharp but dimmedHome yet lostExcited but not erect

Suffering silentlyManoeuvering trapezesCounting on HimTo send more angelsWhom they anyway rejectWhilst endlessly hopingFor prophecy

Minna Salami 29

Gender

The serpent was actually Of the tribe of sunOf ShivaMars and April

The apples Whose seeds grew intoTattered wingsWere bitter-sweet

She knew thenWhat she now Too doesRole-playDistorts the androgynyOf the devil

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