A Universal Theme

In the wake of a sweeping darkness

and its audacious subtraction of light,

homes become caves for shelter.

Every day is the same—

a frequency of anxiety,

the slow crawling of listlessness,

and the disquieting number of deaths,

such that grief is now a universal theme.

Is this the tale of the new decade?

an invisible wave of affliction upon our arrival?

 

 

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Praise Osawaru is a writer and (performance) poet of Bini descent. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Afritondo, Analogies & Allegories Literary Magazine, FERAL, Ghost Heart Literary Journal, Kalahari Review, Perhappened Mag, Sub-Saharan Magazine, and elsewhere. He was longlisted for Babishai 2020 Haiku Award. He’s on Twitter @wordsmithpraise

Image credit: Delvin / Fabrics Store