Dusk Ripens at its Zenith By Chinaza James-Ibe, first published on Poetry Sango-Ota

 and i cradle sunlight in my eyelids

nothing is as golden as this tail

i chase  nothing as golden

as light through brown  silver silken curtains

and the dappled reflection

of ripples dancing on ceiling boards

palms of sunlight   scooping shadows of thin

strings onto my elastic cheek

i spend my sleep   dreaming of waking moments

of hanging sunlight   beside a family portrait

and ten thousand photographs  fondling my eyes

quiet headphones   reminiscing song

i spend my waking moments  dreaming of dreams

a great sheet of silence blanketing me

sweet potatoes frying  two streets away

spitting tomato stew

ginger-spiced akamu  from the hawkers’ baskets

life at my lips no mea culpa today

yes  the light has absolved me

i will not trade in black guilt  before dusk

i have ukwa  suppliant  in my mouth

and a shameless heart.