Awwal Owolabi
Ceasefire
I carved my ex-lover’s memory; an effigy of distrust, on the left side of my chest
Each breath reminds me of an aged bond, metamorphosed into bondage
Of love stories turned artefacts of violence
Like my mum and her ex-husband, Ukraine and Russia
Voids and spaces where the innocent swallow grief the size of a grenade
At the sight of two elephants cloaked
In combat gears, green grasses wither
Like the people of Gaza, embracing bullets with folded arms
Like Ukrainian citizens gasping for survival, Putin in efforts to stay afloat
Like a boy from a broken home, whose happiness hangs by a thread
ALL YOUR COLOURS ARE OFTEN BEAUTIFUL
“All is fair in love and war”
Until a mother hangs hatred on the shelf of her daughter’s mind
And a father plant lies in his son’s belly
Because their love died prematurely like the smile on the lips of a widow
How do you save a boy from drowning in the river of his father’s woes?
How do you save a girl from dancing to the tune of her mother’s disaster?
How do you save a country from falling into ruins?