Someone I Loved Became a Flower That'd Never Grow. — A Poem by Oladosu Michael Emerald

Photo Source: Unsplash

SOMEONE I LOVED BECAME A FLOWER THAT'D NEVER GROW.

For China

Again this morning, I woke up to a message on my phone

that another flower had been planted. Every year, everything I love

turns into a rhythm of breath. Sometimes, our tears don't measure our pain.

The painful part of being tall is that no one can reach your heart.

No wonder, in my dream last night, ashes were scattered

on the surface of the water & a lone boat dwindling on its surface.

You've become a flower planted in the graveyard, not a garden.

 Your two-month-old daughter would grow up asking her mom ‘where's Dad?

I thought I felt a masculine hand that felt like home when I first came to this world.'

Would Anjola, your daughter call the wool in your nostrils costumes?

Imagine something hurting that bad.

Here, I am, forcing myself to believe it is a prank. You didn't die.

You just wanted to see how loved you are. Hold time still,

& resurrect Joshua to hold the sun from ever setting.

Let the stars fade; darkness has fallen.

Fold the moon like a cloak no longer needed.

Every question about your death is a finger

pointing to your grave. The last time we heard from you,

the doctor said you'd come home soon.

Was he talking about where you originally came from?

In this poem, I hate how you wallow in the past tense,

& grief dictates every line written for you.

China, your existence was just a pencil mark waiting to be erased.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. From the dust we came, to the dust, we return.

Oladosu Michael Emerald (he/him) is the author of the poetry book, "Every Little Thing That Moves," an art editor at Surging Tide magazine, a digital/musical/visual artist, a photographer, a footballer, a boxer, and a political scientist. He teaches art at the Arnheim Art Gallery to kids and adults and is a volunteer art instructor at Status Dignus Child Rescue Home and Ibeere Otun Initiative. He is a pioneer resident of the Muktar Aliyu Art Residency, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. 

His works have been published or forthcoming in many magazines and won numerous awards in writing and art. Say hi to him on Twitter @garricologist and Instagram @garrycologist.