Floratual

Tonight, find my feet in Grandma's garden;
the cool, red hands of the sands holding me.
I will the tenderness of water and earth to quell
my gloom:
Rose for hatred,
Lavender for the ache,
That I may be sweet like Granny's cake.
Sunflower for the sadness,
Chamomile to shush the anger,
I want to smile, wild, like Grandma.
Marigold to melt the stupid fear,
Tulips to tear my jealous heart,
Ivy for unholy thoughts,
And Iris for my avarice.

I'll be down here again at dawn, before the birds,
to smell the bloom;
Love, Bliss. Peace, Goodwill.
Purity, Contentment.
To be like grandma, I do this
flora ritual
to smile, wild:
say, my life, a groomed nosegay
say, my being, the bride;
candlelit eye, summer-view diastema. 


Tee Tee

There's an old pot
In the kitchen
Gifted by an
Old friend,
As a token
Of what we shared.

She's far away
In the North now
But with the pot,
She's not.

Every time I put in
Water
Or melt the butter
Or warm the rice
Or fry the fish—
& the fire beneath 
Smiles & smiles—
It feels like
Tee Tee.

About the author:

Alobu Emmanuel, SWAN VIII, is a writer and an eco-poet from Ebonyi, Nigeria. He is the Founding Editor of Napsite Review (a UNILAG campus journal), the Director of Business/Partnership for SOKOKA Books, and a creative website developer (powered by Weebly). He was a finalist for the Gbemisola Adeoti Poetry Prize (2025). Some of his works are featured in Poetry Sango-ota, Blue Marble Review, Brittle Paper, Pepper Coast Lit, Poetry Column NND, and Isele Magazine. He is on X: @noble_alobu_

Feature image by Hanin Abouzeid on Unsplash