Akachi Obijiaku: 3 Poems
Empathy
You don’t know what pain feels like when you’re well
You cannot imagine what loss evokes when you still have
Empathy tries to imagine
She tries to make us relate
But we are only mimickers
We cry when others cry hard enough
We laugh when another laughs loud enough
And when empathy tells us to be silent
We are silent
But we don’t still know what it’s like to be in one else’s shoes
To remember what his child’s last heartbeat felt like
To cringe when she was told to sit at the back of the bus
We try to understand, we do
But we don’t
That Autumn Smell
That autumn smell makes me love life
Mixed with leftover street cigar scents
And a shy winter trying to creep in
That Autumn smell makes me want to be adventurous
Spontaneous runs in the park beside tall handsome strangers
Late night treks to the picturehouse all by myself
That autumn smell washes away the homesickness
Giving me a re-awakened sense of valiance
Ready to construct some new beginnings
That autumn smell holds me to account
Reminds me that I have no reason to fail
No reason to fear, and no reason to fade
The Pastor’s Son Is In Town
The pastor’s son is in town!
Make sure you comb your hair well
Take a deep shower and keep clean
Eat before you get to the church - look healthy
The pastor’s son is in town!
Be cheerful and be on time
Don’t let me down
And make sure you give him your number
Akachi Obijiaku is a Nigerian poet. She emigrated to England 5 years ago, and started writing poetry last year. Her poems appear in over 10 journals.