in a telephone conversation with my father where he enquires about my marriage plans
a dagger navigating through a gulf of wire curls
meet the centre point of my forehead
just after he spells out the words
lost between the frontiers of the things
i desire and what i must be
i want to tell him about the ringing cold
or about the house sparrow who homeless
after her tree was felled had made
her nest just at the edge of my windowsill
instead i say baba i don’t think the telephone
line is clear enough for this
conversation
By Chisom Okafor
Biography:
Chisom Okafor is a Nigerian poet and Nutritionist, who was shortlisted for the Gerald Kraak Prize in 2019. He edited 20:35 Africa: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry and presently works as Chapbook editor for Libretto Magazine.