Blue Moon on the Tongue | Emman Usman Shehu

A blue moon is not found

in a mouth that harbours

a tongue restlessly showcasing

the voice it orchestrates

where there are ears or not within

a listening distance.

A tongue that wants that voice

to kite in every wind

brings endless storms

and lightning streaks to its harbour,

and no lipstick of calm

will stick for a moment.

An off day cannot be found

in such a mouth.

And everyone fasts and prays

as the sun moves around,

for the teeth to show grit once

in a blue moon on the tongue.

Emman Usman Shehu

is the author of The River Never Returns (Topaz Books, 2022). His debut collection, Questions for Big Brother, established him as one of the iconic Update Poets. The follow-up collection, Open Sesame, was nominated for the Nigeria Literature Prize. The third collection, Icarus Rising, enhanced his reputation of a social vision explored in a variety of ways including a tapestry of myths. Shehu’s poetry has featured in a variety publications including Best New African Poets, PoetryWales, Sentinel Poetry, Panoply, Spectrum, Kakaki, ThreePennyReview, AayoMagazine, Blank Pages and several others, as well as a few anthologies. He was a runner up in one of the editions of the Muson Poetry Contest. His forays into playwriting and fiction have also earned him accolades. Shehu is passionate about facilitating creative writing workshops and is the co-founder of the Abuja Writers Forum.