Poetry: Abimbola by Emebiriodo Ugochukwu

 

Abimbola

 Can you keep a secret?

How long can you keep it?

Can you not tell her

That while she slept

I took out time to stare at God's perfect masterpiece?

Her!

Can you not tell her

That she is my Muse

And her absence here

Has rendered my quill useless?

Can you not tell her

That for pride's sake

I act as if I don't know her favourite colour,

Her favourite food,

Her favourite author,

And her favourite books?

Can you not tell her

That I sometimes see how she stares from across the room

When we are seated apart

How her stares burn when she sees me flirting with other

girls?

Can you not tell her

That I know

That she quietly hopes I break up with ‘bae’

With those "expert" relationship tips she gives?

Can you not tell her

That her voice is terrible

When she sings,

And that smile on my face

Was birthed from pain in my eardrums?

Can you not tell her

That I love her dreads

In tiny locks

Like starving macaroni rolls?

Can you not tell her

That I know how she scents

Like Shea butter on honey

And sometimes like expired baby powder and strawberry?

I ask again,

Can you keep a secret?

Can you not tell her

That on very dark days

Her smile with the alluring tooth-gap

Works wonders?

Can you not tell her

That I can write of

Towns and cities,

Rivers and lakes

Sculptures and monuments

Poets and poetry

But when I try to write about her

Words fail me?

Can you not tell her

That I rely on her

Towering body frame

To ward off unseen word thieves

Lurking in dark corners

To snatch away my vocabulary bank?

Can you not tell her

That she is beautiful

And that Helen of Troy and Cleopatra

Visited my dream

Demanding for her beauty tips?

Can you not tell her

That the twinkle in her eyes

Has snatched shimmer

From the most precious of stones

And Da Vinci obviously had her in mind

While he painted Mona Lisa?

But just in case you can't keep a secret,

You can tell her

That if I were a Sailor

She'd be the anchor for my ship

If I were a quill

She'd be my ink

If I were 'Banga'

She'd be my starch

And If I were Poetry

She'd be my words.

Biography

Emebiriodo Ugochukwu, a graduate of English and Literary Studies from the University of Port Harcourt, was born in Abule-Egba, Lagos, Nigeria. He is the founder of the Port-Harcourt based poetry group, Word Phantomz. He is a poet of pidgin expression. He claims to be a superhero without a cape, saving lives through his words. He currently resides in Lagos hoping to change the world one word at a time.