we dug our country

ayòdéjì israel

first, we gathered the flesh of the labourers. humans

are heavier than wood. we crawled into the damage

of their bodies and nourished the remnants

of their skulls with every touch of affection. the last

honour you can give to the dead is a grip of warmth

and silence. so we gathered the flesh of the labourers.

we dug again and found love. see how they held themselves

in unity. it is lively to perish together as a country. it is safe

to have your body dismantled by a chisel from your home.

so we dug again and found love. we drew our hands nearer

and lifted the bricks that pressed some bodies against

another. there was rupture and chaos. there was rupture

where there was to be chaos. our country stood

upon its inhabitants. our country became a god and sat

upstairs and placed its legs on its own people. and then

there was chaos. it is not easy to survive a war where

kinsmen fight one another. the pillars that upheld our country

developed fault and fought each other. so we drew our hands

nearer and lifted the bricks that pressed some bodies

against another. we receded their blood until we were tired.

the earth was glad to dry their lotion. is blood not natural

too? until the time came and our country began to ask

for our own blood. who would have saved the saviours?

so we receded their blood until we were tired. second,

we died. we have used every pinch of our blood to fight

for the growth of our dear country, who are we to denial it

all of it when it is needed the most to fight for its own downfall?

Ayòdéjì Israel, a poet, writer and editor, is a Pushcart Prize nominee. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Channel Magazine, Eunoia Review, Counterclock, Ake Review, Defunct Magazine, OneArtPoetry, Livina Press, The River, Nude Bruce Review, The Bitchin Kitsch & elsewhere. You can find him on Twitter @Ayo_einstein.

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