Light
by Precious Iyoriobhe
After Amanda Gorman
Till the sun stops rising we will talk
About the kind hearts of the women
That raised us, the certainty of what
We thought was going to be their eternal lives,
Before we knew what the rain wanted from us,
When the roads diverged into the mountains
And borders were not borders, we will talk,
About running, and how this country has kept
Us at bay, Nigeria to Benin, to Cape Coast,
Everywhere we’ve been is a part of our home,
Its incense thick as nostalgia there’s so much
Gathering and so much loss, boys born in
Strange alphabet so we called them strangers,
The history of what they are thrown and forgotten
This country is our disease too,
Something alive in us long after we die,
What we tell ourselves, what we tell
Others—all together is silence.
Precious Iyoriobhe has taught literature for 15 years, deriving joy and fulfilment from helping little kids achieve their literary dreams. She writes stories, poems, and essays, while also being an ardent oral storyteller. A resident of Côte d’Ivoire, Precious is originally from Nigeria.