She walks in
their middle. Conversation
on the go. She’s running
on overdrive.
Pages upon pages
Filling and overflowing
the vistas of her mind
She’s on the run. Insomnia
her sweatshirt
Her pain reflects
in the red of her eyes
when she says
good morning
…and the gentle snore
during the unit’s meeting
at 10:30
gives her out
Her bed is her lover
and her albatross. She knows
every touch of it
on
her skin.
The ceiling above her
has a name. Each tiny box
a square to the time
she would spend awake
waiting for Baba Lola’s
horn, to close out
the night on
Niyi Adebule Street
Her mind trails him
until he locks the door
The time is 1am
She turns off the light
Darkness envelops
her gently
The stars call her name
And the croaking toads
sing her lullaby
“Try! Just try.”
5am.
Eyes gently close
A brutal push
yanks the door
open
Dide ko le kirun
No time to think
She jumps out of bed
Zooming away
into another day
broken. To be alive
again
at nightfall.
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