image: a boy and his void. atlas shouldering a burning chaos.
is this not punishment enough? i think i’ve seen all there is
of darkness, and then, the universe expands—a kind of joke?
the world’s dark ink spills into pain—more, and even more
pain—as if to say: roaming ghost of a boy, what do you know
about living to think you could write poems about survival?
image: a boy in the mirror. a baby wood-louse heaving a load
of sorrow on its head like a curse. i look into the looking-
glass, and like one crazy bird, grief has made a nest of my hair.
wash. how we rebuke fire. rinse. how we rebuke pain. repeat.
grief, if you won’t fall off, won’t you, at least, soften a little?
drown. to put out a small fire, I cover my body with a flood
Timi Sanni is a Nigerian writer, editor and multidisciplinary artist. He was the 1st place winner of the 2020 SprinNG Poetry Contest, the 2020 Fitrah Review Short Story Prize, and the 2021 Anita McAndrews Award Poetry Contest. He was also the 3rd place winner of the 2021 Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in magazines such as Black Warrior Review, New Delta Review, Palette Poetry, Lolwe, Lucent Dreaming, and elsewhere. Find him on twitter @timisanni