AYOOLUWA OLASUPO (IMISI)
I should have been the child of an angel,
But my mother had no money to buy wings.
She was always in her apron, kneading dough on tattered countertop,
Often forgetting she had an only glowing gown.
I am the princess of a queen who owned a garden laden with lilies,
Yet she also reared a pond of lost songs under her face.
I watched my mother wake flowers every morning,
Making them pull out of their duvets
To a hunt that brought wild smiles home to her.
When the children had folded lawn chairs after twilight tales
And sparrows had put out their disco lights,
I would hear another thrilling sound from her chamber;
Rhythms of groans descending the stairs of her eyes,
Bathing the sole of her feet in salty fluid.
Before she migrated to a cave on cold lake,
Mother taught me that dreams could thrive on barren land.
She showed me how wood pregnant with water
Could become a museum of scorching fire;
I became the heiress of a legend
For I was begotten of the daughter of confidence.
AYOOLUWA OLASUPO (IMISI)
is a Nigerian poet and medical doctor. Her works have appeared in The Christian Literary Hub’s Anthology, The Touch Magazine, The Apotheosis, Poetry Tuesday and elsewhere. She has been nominated on two consecutive occasions as a contributory writer to the Nigerian Medical Students Association. She is the editor-in-chief of The Scent and Sceptre Teenager’s Magazine. She blogs on starsandnectars.blogspot.com. When she’s not writing or attending to her medical passions, she reads, makes music and tells children in the neighbourhood twilight tales.
