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Some days, we traded sharpened glances, and took a long walk from the places we have been; the kitchen, the bedroom
and the crooked parts of yesterday

Some nights, we exchanged brief nods and silence,
and rolled to the sides of our bed;
and gave out our cravings for dents on the bedside — that pried out from our ears
because our mouths were shut too tight

Some days, we would not notice the moon soaking into thin curtains;
we were distracted by the details of our bodies; our fingers, our mouths, our tongues

We visited these places, but we did not bend into all shapes that grow there
We had a way of twisting sharp-edged glances into revisited admiration for each other
We had a way of removing our teeth to give way to soft words that matched the pull
we hid behind our backs,

We frequently chose love —
to arrive at compassion wholly in the morning,
We frequently chose love —
to arrive at forgiveness within these places
We frequently chose love —
to arrive at understanding on quiet days.

 

Shiloh Okparanma

Shiloh Okparanma is a writer and poet resident in Rivers State. He is a graduate of the University of Port Harcourt and founder of a literary community during his university days. He enjoys reading fictional novels with poetic profoundness (with his favourite being ‘The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born’). When he is not reading or writing, he is picking up arbitrary and curious knowledge.

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