Sharon Neema, Kenya

come sit in the ends of my dreams with me.
bear witness to their death,
and to my awakening.
swaddle it in something careful,
in compass song.
sing birdsong and morning
to drown out the mourning.
put flowers in corners
to soften their sharpness.
give me wildflowers and baby’s breath,
anything but roses.
cut
and tame
and water this wilderness in me.
be patient with its stubborn growth.
harvest something like home from these uncertain hands,
and then feast on the fruits of a life fabled.
meet me in the place my words haven’t found yet,
at the gathering of poems written by others.
cover this body in petals
and float it down a river.
i have moored in lonelier places.
my loves will follow me
or mourn me.
either way
at least there will be a remembering,
a memory,
a ritual.

Sharon Neema is a 24-year-old poet and visual artist, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her writing serves as a space to wrestle with meaning, exploring ways to express what feels inexpressible. Her first poetry collection, "good for prayer", (available online) is a collection of poems about the moments that are good for prayer - the moments when you can’t find the right words, moments of loss and joy and yearning, moments without hope, all of it.