Today,
I found a bouquet of Earth’s 7 poems
resting on my doorsteps
One for each layer of creation….
The air in Judea came alive
with perfumes of your poems
fresh, humble hibiscus,
giving, gazing gardenias,
wise izoras, pink thorny roses
Just a hint of flirty lilies,
a wisp of zany zinnias,
a smiling sunflower,
all laced up in a vase,
filled with the aromas
of your presence, Isa
I am aunt Elizabeth,
John and I danced
In joy when you came
I inhale a fragrance of your words
and exhale secrets from my heart
I hear the soundless echoes
of forgotten names of my soul
and the universe whispered
gently back to me
mysteries of the tastes and
innocent beauty of you;
In seasons past
and in lifetimes to come
And I, a virgin took you in
I touched your garment
in the unfolding petals
and in faithful, sturdy stems
pricked by your crazy thorns
piqued, for I see all our hues
the mad mystery of you and I
caught in this bouquet of love
I heave, I sigh, shaking my head
Dreams collapse, reality in its stead
I am a woman healed;
a heart’s hemorrhage ceased
Sleep floats away
Words take her place…
A bouquet of your poems
I inhale their perfumes
Spicy, sweet, sharp,
Stinging, soothing,
Then STIRRING,
The dams burst and
I curl up and weep
I am Martha at your feet…
Like a sardine of songs
Packed into the spaces
Of a scattered mind
Their oils pour out
Spilling into and staining
My wall-less nights and days
Fingers cannot keep up
With the flood of words
I am drowning here
In an angry storm-sea of love
I am the lady of Magdala
Watching you, nailed to the cross,
My sweet saviour, BEloved lsa…
I should have engraved
Your poems only
as temporary tattoos
on my forearms
Now I find your image still here
Deeply entrenched,
Permanently etched
Into the walls of my heart
I am Veronica’s heart
You engraved your face in me…
And I cannot get you out
of the linings of my soul
Unless love ends;
or I cease to breathe
Confused, I pause;
I inhale; I decide to live
I exhale; I choose to love
And so I know
That I shall carry you around
All the life of my days
Like a mesh of beautifully
knotted, stirring, aches
I am Bethsheba, cleansed anew
As I bathe in the light of your love…
Sleep floats away
and love takes her place.
Today, BEloved ISA
I woke up to the sounds
of 7 poems weeping in my heart
Their tears, a reminder….
(C) Juliet Kego Ume-Onyido
