Armistice at death

Abdullah Adedokun, Nigeria

the best life knows it has been lived so

—it leaves like silence, crawls unto the skin

& drags everything along with it in forfeit,

the skin, it wrinkles in submission, like our people

when they raise their voice to ask God for the things

they want and tell him what he can take in response

—like people offering all of themselves

for a part of them. like things

that sound like breeze but unwise

the old man sways and rocks

the best life knows it will leave so it entangles

tenderly unto your past, rhythmic as music, flowing

like waterfalls,

— that even those who've lost all teeth

can mumble as a dream, look, it says,

but what do people hold in hands

too shaky to harbor regrets?

but an old man sways and rocks

Abdullah Adedokun is a Nigerian teen writer who was born and raised in the suburbs of Lagos. His works appear in Eunoia review, Brittle Paper, Rusted Radishes, and Writers Space Africa among others. He is a Foyle Young Poet and a winner of the 2020 Barjeel international poetry contest. Apart from teaching children how to join between Arabic alphabets, he loves watching Baby Olympics and Self defense hacks on YouTube.