the light shines but we do not heal. in the village
no one skips a meal to gossip about the losses, or call
the missing ones a thing, or edit the tenses behind
their name. grief is a journey & i, a fatigued traveler,
wrestling a mental plummet. it was yesterday & she
was fifteen, brown-skinned & blossoming
with ambition. offer me a moment of silence:
it doesn’t compensate for the absence,
but i’ll manage. the two things you learn about living:
(i) nothing escapes the wingspan of light, except the body;
(ii) darkness fades in a blink, light too.
but what do i know about living to dispense survival tips.
i, living by the swing of a wall clock. our uncle,
self-appointed therapist & leader of a hopeful bunch,
recommends confessions. repeat:
the light is bright & full of wholeness,
the light is bright & full of wholeness.
i am deserving of wholeness.
i am deserving of wholeness. see?

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Michael Emmanuel is a creative writer from Lagos. His works have appeared in The Shore, trampset, Ake Review, Jalada Mag, Afritondo, and other places. He is on Twitter @mikey_emmanuel.