CENTO FOR LONELINESS by Wale Ayinla

CENTO FOR LONELINESS by Wale Ayinla

by | Sep 1, 2020 | Isolation, Isolation-Poetry

A man with his eyes closed

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

by Wale Ayinla | POEMS

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.

CENTO FOR ISOLATION by Wale Ayinla

CENTO FOR ISOLATION by Wale Ayinla

by | Sep 1, 2020 | Isolation, Isolation-Poetry

misty hand pressing against a glass

Cento for Isolation

by Wale Ayinla

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

The way that the sea fails to drown itself every day.

I wake up & it breaks my heart. A return to the strange

idea of continuous living despite the mess of us, the hurt,

the empty. In an effort to get people to look into each other’s

eyes more, we just gather on the balcony & swallow all the silence

until we’re filled with fireflies & sleep.

Source: From the Isolation Issue (September 2020)

Cento for Isolation

by Wale Ayinla | POEMS

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.

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