by Olusoji Obebe

for Lagos Market Fire victims

there are fires in this world/ that have blotted the skies/ with histories of dark/ fires, that breathe away/ the innocence of buds/ & squeeze happiness dry.

there are fires/ that are songs only the dead sing/ fires, that clean memories/ & leave the soot hanging in the future.

there are fires/ that are old &/ need a touch of water/ fires, that burn without ignition/ but slip off from the hand of water.

there are fires/ locked up in your body/ fires, that put you out/ without ashes.

there are fires we do not see/ fires we nurse into a mare/ that we can no longer tame.

Olusoji Obebe is a Nigerian creative writer and poetry reader at Fiery Scribe Review. He is a 2x BOTN nominee and Winner of the Fidelis Okoro Prize for Poetry 2024. His works have been published in Brittle Paper, Pepper Coast Lit, Salamander Ink, Morrab Library, MUSE Journal No.51, The Shallow Tales Review, and elsewhere. He is on X @olusoji_obebe and Instagram @olusojiobebe.