From Ashia Ajani’s Isele Poetry Prize winning poems to Chika Oduah’s deeply moving collection, check out our top ten most popular poems of the year.

Two Poems | Ashia Ajani

"if i could maroon into the forest of my hair 
i would: no questions asked 
no notebooks left behind, unspoiled 
restore me back better, fill my knocked 
around head with box braids 
reminiscent of Mississippi cypress 
against a swamp of salty skin."

Ashia Ajani’s “Two Poems” won the 2023 Isele Poetry Prize.

Afrobeats Did This to My Vocabulary | Dami Ajayi

"What would Afrobeats sound like if you couldn’t say whine?
What would Afrobeat sound like if you couldn’t say suffer?

I will take everything that is on offer
& when we land, we land softly on the sofa floor."

A new poem from Dami Ajayi.

Three Poems | Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún

"Bring the end of the world in invisible ropes
Laid to keep our feet from stumbles,
Within established spaces, free from harm,
But only kept the world flat for a season,
More removed like a universe away
Where magic blends with the hint of danger."

Three new poems from Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún.

Two Poems | Fatihah Quadri Eniola

"I spite nothing, we parted for peace & reunion for 
war, you said the hand that pushed us into darkness 
is our revenge in light."

Two new poems from Fatihah Quadri Eniola

Three Poems | Abdulkareem Abdulkareem

"Say the fire burning us could be from the flame we placed 
               near the gasoline & He seeks a restoration of the sacred flesh of the world 

by submerging, like in the genesis." I ruminate on who could 
                wield the possibility of innocence, but in the world of sins, there is a land 

beneath the feet of every man."

Three new poems from Abdulkareem Abdulkareem.

Gurl | Taiwo Hassan

"one day, we'll swim into each other's eyes
and find freedom in scattered scars & dried tracks of tears.

we'll dance, sing, and scream where the sun 
is more known more for dawn than dusk."

Three new poems from Taiwo Hassan.

What It Means To Be A Sister Girl | Charmaine Denison-George

"To unpack new things, to feel joy divine 
To replenish the wine, to cook and dine
To this new coffee maker, promising and true
To its wet, warm, and wondrous brew."

A new poem from Charmaine Denison-George.

Self-Portrait of Grief as Fire | Zaynab Bobi

"on nights like this, i carry 
my mother's prayers on my sleeve
for fear that my sanity will go south. 
Allah ya rabaki da shairin masu shairi."

A poem from Zaynab Bobi.

little joys (in no particular order) | Adebisi Amori

"the smell of books / the pleasure of reading those pages / a child's laughter / a child trusting me to hold them without breaking into tears / food, the smell of it, the taste of it / collective consciousness / youths spilling out on the streets united / youths demanding better / wonderful adult allies / young change makers."

A new poem from Adebisi Amori.

Five Poems | Chika Oduah

"The Khoi-San
Pour honey from the Kalahari 
into her mouth
In Madagascar she 
sucks the tangy fruit of  
baobab."

Five new poems from Chika Oduah.