Open letter to the people suffocating in blues

Photo: Adrien Ledoux

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 floatingโ€”see, 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