Two Poems by Roseline Mgbodichinma

HEART BEATS

My bones move like a miracle                                                    When the silver of your teeth 

                                                  Hits the roof of my tongue

I love the coolness that folds                                                        Me into your arms,

The fire in our kiss                                                                       That consumes flakes free falling

                                            On the moist of our skin               

This is how I know                                                                       our feelings are more than climate –

                             That it warms our underbellies with cooling sensations, 

 Lets our bodies collide into clumsiness                                       like penguins on ice

                            We are the expression of storm & the joy beneath socks,

Look at us finding affection under coats & furs,        the hair on our bodies rising in ovation 

                              For the rhythm of our heartbeats 

When heavens stops pouring this chilliness 

                                                          We will uncover nostalgia lost in the air 

We will hold hands on the sidewalk   &  disappear into the woods

SKATING AWAY 

I carry our memories like Ice –

                        Too cold to grasp 

Too fragile to let go

We are looking for calm

When the wind wants to twirl,

What do we do with this longing 

        When there is an avalanche between us ?

How are we the perfect description

Of something we may never feel?

We are like trees 

                        & vehicles

        & ground & houses; Anything that can be hidden in season 

In this dryness that is our reality,

I watch the owners of joy 

Skate away their sorrows 

If I break my screen,                                      Will I find you shivering 

For my warmth           Or will you be slipping away 

Roseline Mgbodichinma is a Nigerian writer whose works have appeared or are forthcoming in The African writer Magazine, West Trestle Review, X-ray lit mag, JFA human rights mag, Artmosterrific  & elsewhere.  In 2018, she won the audience’s favourite award powered by Union Bank and Okadabooks for her short story, Silence that spoke. Her poem, The Giant, was published in the Poets in Nigeria (PIN) 2019 Anthology, You can reach her on her blog at www.mgbodichi.com and Twitter @Rmgbodichinma.

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