Nights

Nwaka, sing the song
of birds blossoming
among sunflowers
sing a song to quiet
the shrills of restless crickets
Sing songs to light up
the bulbs of my tears
I’ve borne the waters of my gorge
Furious for an outlet
I’ve stared into many nights
searching for a single star
I’ve groped through scorched sands
In search of a glitter in a grain
I’ve seen the rage of broken waves
scurry like scorpions
Nwaka, sing songs to me
Sing songs of dark clouds
Slashed in lightning
Of rains roped in deserts
For I’ve witnessed the birth
of too many crippled dawns
in too many tortured nights.


© Unoma Azuah

• Nights is taken from Night Songs by Unoma Nguemo Azuah, Oracle Books, Lagos (2001); Reproduced with permission.
• More on Unoma Azuah