The Journeyman

By Khanya Mtshali He brought an honesty to work deemed unskilled and menial. A self-respect that towered over the egos of overlords occupying fancy positions, in a hierarchy of thanklessness. He had to work. As a younger man, he preferred the solitary jobs that kept...

Portraiture of Belief Eating at the Flesh of a Man’s Reasoning

Musa Abduljalal Aliyu  My brother, held tight to his  belief like a limpet holding onto algae,  chewing it off a hard rock. So when  he joined Boko Haram, we only saw it  on the leaf he left us that read: I have  left to strive in the path of my Lord. Ya  Ilahi, I...

My Father Renamed Himself

By Nurain Ọládèjì A child’s need to be chased, to hide and be found time and again, is why my father is the ghost stalking my dreams. When I was a child, hunting for where to hide and wait for my friends to seek, I found, inside an abandoned yard with an unfinished...

Mourning

A few hours later, you were trying to rebuke grief. You smiled, leg-working, lori iro…

Collocation, Saudade

Late at night making love, peignoir
& a glaciated window, you touched me everywhere