the song we sing through the ruins
Nwodo Divine
bombs tore through nnem oche leaving her son
daughters scattered my mother lingers near
like the murmur of the forest igbo spirits come
afterlife ebony they watch me by the fire
singing to my ears in the voice of nkita
reminding me of the stories of how to mend
a tear in my wrapper brutality
lost memories stories fit
to honor the fallen nnem oche stays with us
war's refugees sing hunger in a minor key
search for solace in the ruins
of dreams fragments lives shattered
their rest swallowed by bombs nne nnem oche shielded us
with her weathered hands gave my uncle
a smile stretched thin saved my mother
from the vultures circling taught her
the igbo way etched in the map of starvation
stories are my inheritance my skin has never felt the sun
on ancestral soil only the sting of displacement
survival is the greatest birthright an heirloom
bought with blood in my blood the current
of their relentless river runs deep
In nna's diary Aunty Nneamaka hides in the bushes
escaping soldiers searching for young girls
finding refugees Uncle Chigozie the cracks in his smiles
Aunty Adaora a scar on the right side of her face
grieves a life stolen for a table adorned with sorrow
though gone we gather each evening seeking rest
in charred remains there are others whose names
rustle in the woods some woven in smoke
Chioma, Uzoama Ebele and Nkiru their brother Chibuzo
Ogochukwu Nneka, Ndidi Kelechi spirits
watchful upon my sleep shards of a shattered whole
before the exodus before the silence
i braid palm fronds as i sing
Nwodo Divine obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Literature from the University of Benin, Nigeria. He emerged as a finalist in the 2024 Lucky Jefferson Poetry Contest and has been published in Poetrycolumn, Heavy Feather Review, Bacopa Literary Review, and others. He is also the chief editor of Akpata Magazine.
Find him @chukwudivine_ on Twitter/X.
