as a kid, maami would wrap my fallen tooth
with verses from psalms, mutter prayers
in songs. she’ll sing & then throw it way up
our rooftop & watch another sprout in a week or two.
there’s something about these rituals.
I have lost everything—home, maami, my teeth, language.
I know how it feels to be in a place so foreign, the feelings haunt,
the way I force the English syllables out of my Igbo tongue
but how can one split one’s tongue into halves?
Perhaps, maami never knew this feeling
because she never travelled; she could only travel in dreams
but how does it feel to lose the language in your mouth
& never find it again? Like a tooth tossed far upon a rooftop.
Now, in-between two bridges I wrap my tooth
with verses from psalms, mutter prayers
& watch the hollow for weeks without any answer.
This too is how a language disappears from beneath the tongue.
I wonder if it would sprout again in my mouth like a tooth.
Ókólí Stephen Nonso is a Nigerian writer whose poems have previously appeared in Feral Journal, Ebedi Review, Ngiga Review, Praxis Magazine, The Shallow Tales Review, African Writer, Adelaide Literary Magazine New York, Olney Magazine, Tuck magazine, Ofi Press and elsewhere. His short story has appeared in Best of African literary magazine. He has contributed in both national and international pages and anthologies. A joint winner of the May 2020 Poets in Nigeria (PIN) 10 day poetry challenge, first runner-up in the fresh voice foundation Poetry contest, and a third prize winner of the Akuko magazine inaugural prize for Poetry 2021. His bio was included in the ‘Who’s Who of Emerging Writers 2021’ by Sweetycat press publication. You can say hello to him on Twitter @OkoliStephen7