Open letter to the people suffocating in blues
leaving bears the semblance of art.
& like every other form, it leaves a footprint, in the deserted.
it fills you with tears enough to sink a ship /
turns you into a treasure reposing in the ocean deep /
you become the aftermath of a town ravaged by a hurricane.
because they can live without you
they leave you like a pen leaves an essay after the last period.
these artists know how to paint the sky into a deserted beach /
the stars into fading candle lights.
when you find yourself in your mindscape
searching for a book of memories
of a lover whose goodbye left drowning in a pool of blues,
know that the clouds do not sink to the earth
when the sun departs from the sky,
they keep floatingโsee, floating is the ability to traverse darkness.
& if they ever stroll back into your life,
tell them your body is not a roadside motel
they can lodge in & check out from unreservedly / it is a home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Praise Osawaru is a Nigerian writer and (performance) poet. His works have appeared in African Writer, Kreative Diadem, Ngiga Review, Perhappened Magazine, Praxis Magazine and elsewhere. He was longlisted for African Writers Award 2019 & shortlisted in the 2019 Kreative Diadem Creative Writing Contest. When he isn't over-worrying about life, he's reading or binge-watching. You can find him on Instagram/Twitter: @wordsmithpraise