Two Short Nights Collaborations: A Poem From Akulah Agbami

you remember stroking another
woman's hair

remember all that balled up
love awaiting release

you will always be there
be fretting and watching

washing and wondering
rules of the game

and she knows where she stands
two tower blocks
standing

together

the granddaughter

reverently
wipes doors
finds things
rings
finds essences and mysteries

mamani

almost vanished into
air

the plants all shrouded

then the call comes

you take away the mask put
on a smile
and point out new buds
the miracle

of life
of constant unexpected
growing
even in the face of

death

Mairi
amusement arcades
are devoid
of fun

suggesting loneliness
emptiness
the dissatisfaction
in a plastic giant
ice cream

which never melts

naturally the
reunion
with one who has cast
you off
to fight her demons
just be thrust away

sea swirls
and swerves
and is

and all the wisdom
in the grandmother's summaries
of life which fails
to take account

of all you've lost and gained

a late night knock
a phone call recalling
the inevitability
of lock and key

a boxed up proof
of how you stand in love

it is a tide that never turns

the photo never lies

post partum
images
and sounds

the loss of all
control
the descent into
madness
and chaos
and loss and recovery

and the beauty

of the call