By Benson Eluma
O Virginia, possessed
Of the instinct of a plant
On the riverbed, this body
Knows not the symmetry
Of the oar passing, but shivers
With the shock all the same…
Flower-dust in eyes
Flower-dust in nose
Body charmed in wind-waves
Bred and battered
In a civilization of stone
Mind no naturalist like Adam
Husband of Lilith
Remains tongue-tied
Cannot use the word
& hang up on the hidden caller
As the body runs
The soundless gauntlet
Of flower-dust in nose
& flower-dust in eyes
Brandishing wisdom
In a protest of sneezes
& tears without grief
Rudely tutoring my mind
The bloody flowers
Dem dey fuck again
