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.