Sweet bubble bath, absorb me.
Smooth as buttermilk,
filling my senses with acrid lavender aroma.
Distorted features through shifting blue,
streaks of pale skin, rippling and dividing
as reflected tranquillity.
Tempting seeking hands to
break through the surface.
Read MoreI know what people say about African women,
especially aunties, and sometimes I laugh along
but I cannot help but combust into sparks of joy
when I think about the women in my family.
Read MoreMidnight strikes with pixy breath pervading
Across starlit doors once wide, slowly closed
With the sound of chiming, butter melting,
With the dawn approaching for sunset I end
On an island with cruel Calypso.
Read MoreFor they used to grip the edges of the scorching bowls of soup,
For they used to knead the dough and imitate Jamie Oliver,
Sprinkling herbs and thymes over a Tesco-like pizza.
Read MoreI snuck the two in red wax,
tilting to the ether,
so slim.
Splintered wood stands stuck,
yet still santal, still sweet.
Read MoreIt’s evergreen Alaska, glacier snow.
‘Not long to go’, the trees reply
to the bear’s stomach rumble, grumble
the rain from molecular skies.
Read MoreStep ONE: What is a ghost?
A ghost is a wish
regret
alive
a fantastic starting point for the exploration of houses.
Read MoreWhen I was first told
my voice has an “international twinge”,
I felt a deep pang of sadness,
unspoken shame.
The whiplash of an unintended insult
staining my cheeks childish.
The word “outsider” hidden in the subtext,
another reminder: “you don’t belong here”.
Read MoreIt’s 4am again,
I wish my mind would rest.
My worries replayed, amplified, on repeat,
our brains remember things, you see.
Pausing and replaying my worst days,
a highlight reel of mistakes I’ve made.
Read MorePlanting a tree for my future daughter
so she’ll have a patch of shade to read under,
to hide from the house
when the walls get too tall,
and advice from her mother
means nothing at all.
Read MoreYou Sir,
think your eyes are so keen when they see My lumps and bumps as this burned up broken thing
Pinched between My fingers and the gaze of this world
Read More
