By Oteeyho Iro
PROMPT — I will not rest until ...
I did not know
it's hellish to live on the other end of the gun
always on the target board___
that surviving is another form of dying.
How do I diffuse this pain
where do I rest this bones that made a home
on the spine of my back, the blade of my shoulders,
the base of my throat & every papilla of my tongue.
It's shattering & betraying
the world's population nine digit zeros but yet
my hometown is bleeding
my hometown is mourning
my hometown is dying
tethering on the edge of a bullet
gasping for help but no one answers.
"frustration is powerlessness
frustration is suffocation."
I wish i could do more___more than this poem
but my tongue is all I have got
my voice the only ammunition I can yield.
i will speak!
i will write!
i will not rest until
our tears, wiped.
our cries, heard.
the gory, stopped.
I will not rest until Birnin Gwari
is Birnin Gwari again
free from any menace & monsters
until home is home again.
Oteeyho Iro hails from Nigeria where she also resides. She is a word enthusiast and her work has been published on Visual Verse. She can be reached on instagram@ oteeyho_iro