Peace Haruna 6/16/26 Peace Haruna 6/16/26

Auntie Sister.

I’ve come bearing bad news. When I arrived at the front door, I wanted to lift my skirt, turn away, run into the street, and never come back. However, I’d already made it this far; there was no

Richard Adewale Oredola 4/16/26 Richard Adewale Oredola 4/16/26

Anukara: the Forsaken.

I was among the 27 Archaeology students from the University of Ibadan assigned to an excavation at Obong Itoro in Calabar State, Nigeria, as a prerequisite for our final-year project.

Anthony Ikeh 4/9/26 Anthony Ikeh 4/9/26

Goodnight Gotham.

By the borough, I nestle my palms around your neck — not a funeral, yet your eyes glaze from inside your boxed head / We should leave / We could leave yet your shoulders chitter in…

Olumide Manuel 4/2/26 Olumide Manuel 4/2/26

Jaiye.

Jaiye was pregnant, but nobody knew. Her trick was dressing before dawn in one of her mother’s many oversized blouses, a scarf swathed about her little bump, so tight she writhed all day.

Maria Oluwabukola Oni 11/12/25 Maria Oluwabukola Oni 11/12/25

Ẹlẹda mi, Modúpé.

When I rise, I must thank my òrí. I thank my òrí, my head, for keeping me alive, for waking me up, for standing by me. When bad people from my dreams called my name, it’s my òrí, my head,

Abdul Awal Arikewusola 10/27/25 Abdul Awal Arikewusola 10/27/25

Mantra II

Beloved: we will dance soon, like the ants around the sugar cube, and not suffocate from joy. We will sing grace like the birds, above the ripe mangoes, & our throats won’t hurt. I swear, the news will come

Ayòdéjì Israel 10/14/25 Ayòdéjì Israel 10/14/25

On the News.

You knew something was wrong when your father appeared on the news with one leg and a half, a doctor standing by his bed, the governor by the other side, officials trailing in this order like a funeral procession.

Emmanuel G. G. Yamba 10/7/25 Emmanuel G. G. Yamba 10/7/25

The Story of a Country.

The world has become a banana skin—soft, slick, and deadly underfoot. The men of my country slip, one by one, into graves, like your father’s photograph falling from the wall and shattering. And I can’t help thinking this place

Chizitere Madeleine 10/2/25 Chizitere Madeleine 10/2/25

Hebrew Women.

The frangipani has bloomed again and shaded the entrance of Ihuoma’s home, so much that even when you lounge on the porch, the air wafts the tepid scent directly into your nostrils. It’s July again, her third in Pines Avenue

Chiwenite Onyekwelu 9/30/25 Chiwenite Onyekwelu 9/30/25

The Magi.

On the first day of the new year, I stepped into the world with nothing but my faith. I had nothing to give the Messiah. No gold, no frankincense. El Dia De Reyes. Sometimes I am a man emptied of God, & other times, I overflow.

Gospel Chinedu 9/22/25 Gospel Chinedu 9/22/25

What I Make of a Massacre Scene.

On the streets, I identify dismembered torsos & limbs, count bullets that missed their shots into me through grief. I think I died in one of the barrages, or did I miss the ship sailing towards god?

I Echo 9/16/25 I Echo 9/16/25

The Death of Zagreus.

It is a miracle to wake up these days & not burn like an asshole. The assholery of a man untouched by love—broken thing wetting himself in a room, lights off, music on, because it is easier to be keeled by a promise: