bonding is covalent when you
            hold your lover by the tongue
and tell each other secrets with
            keys you dropped under your
pillow – because sharing meant
            jumping off the cliff, and your
hands are knot in ways that
            say: share with me your attic,
I won’t dust off any emotion on
            the table, and we won’t look
into old boxes. but you know
            this is another bond, one that
requires, at most, one static
            heart. and you lack sufficient
energy to form one more. you
            know ionic bonding without an
out-of-skin leaves you unstable,
            that such polar attraction will
reduce your half-life, and lead
            to your decay. still you hold on.

image credit: Istock

Precious Okpechi studies Biochemistry at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Brittle Paper, Nthanda Review, Praxis Magazine, Dwarts. He is currently the Custodian of TWC – a small community of student writers at Nsukka.