Crown
head permed heavy because rain don’t dare touch us.
on certain mornings you can hear it deep in conversation
with itself. i can’t the rain says. for it is written that so long
as the oils of scorched earth red to the root and royal hold
the hair in place then it shall remain untouched. the world
must scab. the peacocks must shrivel into vultures
before the scalp is troubled. but it has been so long
the rain says since i have tasted. generations have come and
gone and still it holds. this immaculate empire without stray.
Notes:
“Crown” © The Estate of Gboyega Odubanjo, 2024. Extracted from Adam by Gboyega Odubanjo, to be first published in the UK by Faber & Faber Ltd. on July 4, 2024.
Source:
Poetry
(June 2024)
