I search for my reflection
in the muzzled eyes
of the man across me.
You are not here & this longing
is ribbing its way out of my chest.
I want to write to remind you
that I am tired of carrying
your smile as a memory, into my sleep;
that bones are all that are left
of the happiness you left me.
But tonight, against the shadow
of your presence,
I stand, loose & weightless
as though
I know you can feel my heartbeat
& will remind me to breathe
more deeply, so the earth spinning
under my feet can catch up
with the pace of your coming & going;
as though you never left me & I
never forgot the weight of your lips
on mine; as though you’ve been here
all this time, waiting for me to cough up
an arcadia of bliss inside me, even
without you. Bliss inside me,
even without you?
Abu Bakr Sadiq
has his poems in The Lit Quarterly, Uncanny Magazine, Iskanchi Press & Magazine, The Drinking Gourd and elsewhere. He writes from Minna. Find him on twitter @bakronline.