please,
let me burn. place a gourd next to my head
plant a white rose in the space between my eyes
& set fire to this body till it combusts into
a scene of golden flames. let my ashes travel
towards the sky & watch as they go settle on god’s palm.
my eyes are yards and yards of white
i can’t explain an ode to joy
let my name play on your tongue like a song
you can’t get out of your head; this is me existing
inside of you and inside of myself simultaneously.
a firefly dancing to the music of a silent room. odd things
carry the most beauty. let my story mix with
the sheet of rainbow that is the sky
& if in the end, i cease to be, please,
remember that this fire breathed life into me and
i, too, died a happy boy.
let me burn. place a gourd next to my head
plant a white rose in the space between my eyes
& set fire to this body till it combusts into
a scene of golden flames. let my ashes travel
towards the sky & watch as they go settle on god’s palm.
my eyes are yards and yards of white
i can’t explain an ode to joy
let my name play on your tongue like a song
you can’t get out of your head; this is me existing
inside of you and inside of myself simultaneously.
a firefly dancing to the music of a silent room. odd things
carry the most beauty. let my story mix with
the sheet of rainbow that is the sky
& if in the end, i cease to be, please,
remember that this fire breathed life into me and
i, too, died a happy boy.
Ameen Animashaun is a Nigerian poet. His writings explore grief, sexuality and identity. A winner of the Inkspired Poetry Contest, his works have appeared or are forthcoming in Agbowo, Libretto Magazine, Poetry Nation, EroGospel, The YAPAnthology and elsewhere. He writes from Lagos. An oddball. A butterfly. He tweets @AmeenAnimashaun.