—after Jeffrey McDaniel.
In a bid to get people to love more
& hate less,
God decided to plant one hundred & one
Love fruits
In every man.
At coffee, when mom uses her first love fruit
& says, I love you,
I only nodded.
Gardening, grandma says, I love you so much, son.
I just smiled.
Dad gives a big hug after scolding me at supper.
Says, I love you, my boy.
I shrug. Say nothing.
While the world is fast asleep, I pick up the phone
In a rush
& call my crush.
Proudly say to her, I did not use any of my fruits.
Saved them all for you.
Okay, she says.
Then I go on to tell her, I love you.
I love you.
I love you. I love you.
I love…
& when she does not say a word,
I realize she’s given up all hers.
Alobu Emmanuel alias Noble Alobu, is the convener of the Noble Poet Collective (NPC). He’s currently a student of Philosophy at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Inspired by belief, love and strife, his writings oftentimes, feel like a hug. He is an alumnus of the SprinNG Writing Fellowship, 2023 and was shortlisted for the BKPW Poetry Contest (August 2023 Edition). Some of his poems are featured in “Red Penguin Collection”, “Agape Review”, “NantyGreens”, “Eboquills”, “Celestite Poetry”, “Literary Yard”, and “HotPot Magazine”. He strongly believes nature holds a great deal of magic and loves to spend time with his pet chicken, Juliet. Catch him on Instagram & Threads.. @noble.alobu