Scattered Scenes The sun dries up my emotion At the spot where broken bottles clutter the sidewalk Urine stains form a collage of lives hobbling by * I hear cries of ghost slaves In my landlady’s basement Lady Chatterley evades the silent walk of age Though her wrinkles drip like her bulldog’s lip She prances in pink fawns on her furs And sparkles brighter than her Lexus * Her tightening rent is pollen dust bathing Monument Avenue Coating my eye brows, lips and lashes Yellow The pollen crusts Rust the linings of my breath * In the park A Caucasian boy Touches my skin Shades his eyes against the sun To see my face His mother sprints towards us Her veiled lace Floats against The white of the pavement She grabs him His limbs flail against the wind The sun glares Casting his frame In bronze The furrow on my brow Is deeper than the river That feeds my veins Fear lurks in every corner. Haunted There is a part of the night That crawls out of the wall and raises its hammer above my head. Each Blow descends with the howling of a wind Pounding Pounding at my mind pounding pounding at my head till the pellets of my pride splatter like splinters of a blasted tree I grope Groaning bended and bashed while demons jeer from corners and applaud pounding pounding till my bedroom becomes a butcher’s table pounding, pounding, as morning crawls in to rescue me I duck dreading the light that hides between shadows and wobble my way into daylight The bruises on my swollen face claw their way out But I have learnt how to keep company with daylight trapping the steps of light.
About the Author:
Unoma Azuah is a professor of English at Wiregrass Georgia Tech. Valdosta, GA, USA. Her research and activism focus on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights. Recently, she concluded a book project on the lives of gay Nigerians entitled, Blessed Body: Secret Lives of LGBT Nigerians. Her current book project is entitled Wedged Between Man and God: Queer West African Women’s Stories. The prestigious Ms. Magazine describes her just released memoir, “Embracing My Shadow: growing up a lesbian in Nigeria,” as powerful. Some of her writing awards include the Aidoo-Snyder award, Urban Spectrum award, Flora Nwapa/ Association of Nigerian Authors award, Leonard Trawick award and the Hellman/Hammett Human Rights award.
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