Whirlwind, roaring violently against my weak voice
I know you,
Far away from my sweaty land
I saw you,
Grinning, laughing at my impending lost.
Whirlwind, silently scheming my fall
To rise again in your broad arms
Where your forehead kiss
Upon our native land, aimlessly cold,
Would see betrayal’s new sweetly name.
Whirlwind, a black woman’s friendly death
Sitting always alone beside her own shadows
Watching, praying,
Preying on a passion blind to vision
Playing with dreams.
Whirlwind, you traversed my desert land
Angrily, needing fresh conquest;
Crying like a bereaved mother,
My glowing beauty, black, entered your eyes
Where it would be impossible to end my death.
Whirlwind, daggling heavens beyond my reach
Again and again I found me fate-
A cyclone of mixed symphony brandishing love;
Twilight buried below my million fears
Even as your kisses and cuddles swallowed my pain.
Bola Opaleke was born in Nigeria in 1973, was educated through secondary school and later attended Obafemi Awolowo University in Western Nigeria. Some of their works have appeared in a few print and online magazines. A poetry collection”A Note From Hell” was published in 2012.