Cento for Loneliness
by Wale Ayinla
A sound was wound in my head.
Yes, I know words call things into being–
claw at the bight’s grain.
It is unlikely that we are the only ones in this universe.
I don’t think I’ve ever written the word hope,
but nothing else fits in here.
I have been so careless with the words I already have.
Anything can be made into a cage.
We crack the egg, and the weak animal comes out wanting.
Hello, I’m here, I say. Get over it, they say.
God, I say. And it stays that way: no answer.
Source: From the Isolation Issue (September 2020)
Cento for Loneliness
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WALE AYINLA is a Nigerian poet, essayist, and editor. He is a Best of the Net Award and Best New Poets Award nominee, and his works appear or are forthcoming on Palette Poetry, Connotations Press, Waccamaw, Glass Poetry, Existere and elsewhere. He is @Wale_Ayinla on Twitter. He is the founding editor of Dwarts Magazine.
