David Ishaya Osu

Seamless

light / seamless / lingerie

it is not as dark—gravity, a reason to sleep—say

lines / across / lodestars

the first axis—love, a step down—say

lull / trespass / little

it was easy—paces, a taste—say

leaves / miss / latte

each sound—slow, a fruit—say

lace / brackets / let

it could move—tight, round—say

lemon / come south / loudly

we have a night—tune, berries—say

Wax

a—wax a poem

b—beneath the green

c—as fleshy as candy

d—no one to the dial

e—east to the rest

f—fast and funky

g—go with my freckles

h—a whole journey backward

i—more than chairs, i’d say

j—a spread of jam horizontally

k—kindly cutting lacy nerves

l—low

m—two slow songs melt

n—my body is my forename

o—oral pleasure

p—soft folds and plans

q—in flower boxes

r—bring me frothiness

s—a salty city is enough

t—tonight

u—baby

v—there is time to go vestal again

w—one word for moving teacups

x—spin

y—we are keepers of crosses

z—no casks nor darkness

Maya

once milky

dawn

twice the pavement

suitcases

sing

through the butter

udita

whispers

folds and furry

always

return

boldly central

butterflies

thrice timely

free heels

among red poems

it will rain

tonight

rounds and names

curl

Buttons

—one just became a chocolate flavour

—i ate sugar every day

—tunes like siblings running down the stairs

—i was measured for my early dresses

—decades have gone by, but not my childhood

—i do not know how to think of motherless sparrows

—cream and oysters, locks and love, sky and dye

—i remember my father is dead offhand

—several weeks of eating apples from the bottom

—i have not been able to resist tomorrow

—needles have gone through all of us, but we have not them

—we kept spare buttons in colourless jars

—there was nothing else to hide; everyone was asleep

—we gave a cup of tea and honey a story

—mum was the only one in her dress

Another life

the first window you saw—

you do not remember the circle—

your favourite butter is what you want—

today a photographer gives the lily another life—

a drop and a kiss in one sentence—

i felt peace through my shoulders—

the language of rain unspoken—

one memory is enough—

a timely cream and coloured whispers—

touch it again—

one platter of raw amber—

all your words in vanilla disappear—

look down on me tonight—

it is a forgotten sunset—

slowly sleeping through peaches and pitches—