NIGHTS by Victor Obukata (Nigeria, 15)

A woman whimpers more than her child will even,
beaten by pushes of words piercing her heart to pieces,
and fists quick to teach her the sign language of a beast.
Her tears become the ink of this pen.

Every morning, she shapeshifts from the beauty of the night into a mourner,
For every breaking of the dawn kills the night’s beauty,
and mocks how short the night that swallows her day’s
grieving is.

At noon, she is denied sunlight.
Her skin becomes where fists carrying abuse land,
and her mouth is a gagged voiceless thing.
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The night is where she tells the day’s experience.
Her body caresses the serenity of darkness,
and pray to stay there forever, for a new dawn is a nightmare.

Victor Obukata is a Christian and ardent lover of literature. He is a member of HCAF. He is also a member of NWF. ​