I woke on my knees,
thirsty for conversation,
but could not read God’s lips
in the darkness of my room.
I interrogated dawn.
The sun still had a
sleep mask on.
I asked what fortune
had in its hands—
she asked me to wait
for the surprise hidden in
the back pocket of the day.
This map I hold
in my hand is a dream—
the terrain is chameleon.
I feel safer in the grave
of time, where the hours
do not sing
in unknown tongues,
for as a child I do not know
which foot to put first—still I go,
one hesitant step after the other.
Jide Badmus is an engineer, a poet inspired by beauty and destruction; he believes that things in ruins were once beautiful. He is the author of There is a Storm in my Head; Scripture; Paper Planes in the Rain; Paradox of Little Fires; Silk Psalms; and Anatomy of the Sun (and everything beneath). Obaluaye is forthcoming with Flowersong Press in 2022. He has a Pushcart Prize nomination. Badmus has curated and edited several anthologies such as Vowels Under Duress; Coffee; Today, I Choose Joy; and How to Fall in Love. He is the founder of INKspiredNG, Poetry Editor for Con-scio Magazine, and sits on the board of advisors for Libretto Magazine. Jide writes from Lagos, Nigeria. He tweets @bardmus