THIS THING CALLED DEATH
by Blessing Anaso
Shortlist (Top Seven) of the 2020 Kreative Diadem Annual Creative Writing Contest (Poetry Category)
I was twelve when I first saw it,
Cells fat and pink, the colour of cancer,
I saw its fingers in Ma’s falling hair and in her brave smile.
Like the sharp scent of disinfectant—angry and relentless.
I smelled death on Pa’s clothes,
In his anti-depression pills and on his thinning hair.
Later, I smelled it in Pa’s study, hanging from the ceiling,
Fists clenched in rigor mortis—blind and bloated.
I heard it in Bebe’s blood pressure,
In the rheumatic pop of her aged knees,
I heard it in the tired sigh of a year too many,
It came in her sleep—ripe but sudden.
This thing called death, I feel it now,
In my husband’s tight grip and midnight sobs,
I see it in my left breast and in my daughter’s uncertain eyes,
I smell it in the rustle of hospital sheets,
And taste it in my bloody vomit.
Small but enough
Like the soft hiss at the end of a kiss.
THIS THING CALLED DEATH
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Blessing Anaso is a student and creative writer living in Nigeria, occasionally known to dabble in dark poetry.
Her work ‘Halima’ was selected for the AU_CIEFFA’s girl-child education campaign, published on their website.
Her poem ‘The Demons You Name’ also placed fourth place in the Kito Diaries ‘#QueerLivesMatter’ competition.
She writes short stories in her spare time.
