Onyinye Anyaka

I wish to tell a tale 

Bout You and I.

      Of these sprouting-rosebud years,

      Each spent with innermost splendor.

I want to open up the windows stained to a blur by the morning dew,

And let in the breeze of serenity that will possess my dreads to 

Flail like angel wings     then relish      in the moment  

The times when our rose-hips made great

Jellies.      Sauces.       Syrups.      Soups and Seasonings.

       Rose petal, I wish to talk about our every 

       Revels, crossroads and enjambments, from each time

       We sat at the foot of the bamboo grass

       Smiling in the reverie of past times.                

I hope to hold You in my heart through Spring and into Summer, 

Even as the rain pours down on us.

‘But these seasons will not last, 

For things spin out of motion and veer off

Sometimes, and this rain won’t fall forever’

For You will leave after its last drop thuds.’

        I could hear the wall clock dinging fervently

        Time is quite disciplined!

        I didn’t know how close it was until now

        ‘Candy is consolation for a crying child 

        But a soul like mine is hurt by the sweetness of the moment.’

I want to hold you dear like an antique in the attic of my heart

…If only we could do this forever…

         I wish You too would tell– this tale 

         Of you and I.

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Anyaka Onyinye Favour was born in 2004. She is a 300L student of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, studying English and Literary Studies. She is from Ihiala Local Government Area, Anambra state.