NAOMI​

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"that which pleases merely by being perceived" (Aquinas)

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Naomi...
here are my perceptions of you--
your eyes,
yridescent blackness of sorrows and pain,
with silvery catchlights of hope
that always seem to glimmer
with an SOS that your mouth never utters.
 

your face,
always looking ahead
often bared of facial embellishments,
it shows off puberty's scars
and papa's indelible handprints.
 

your hands,
soft for a lass
to whom Life has given a fetcher
with coarse rope to get water

from the depths of Styx
and quench her thirst for survival.
 

your gait,
proud, springy with a slight limp,
as of a Samson who fought
with a lion in his den
and crawled out half-dead
but alive with the hopes of morrow.
 

all these have I perceived
and hidden in my heart,
pleasing my timid soul
for 23 months and 17 days
of living beside your house.

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Ondo, 2020

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THE GODDESS​

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I’ve been told your eyes could bewitch a man`s soul.
Oh, how beautiful would it be,
To be entranced by those eyes of aged wisdom!
I have heard that on your shoulders,
Lie all mankind`s burdens.
Oh, how strong they are, those fragile shoulders
That bear such heavy load without drooping.
The winds have whispered to my ears
Of how you sealed your lips
When they refused to hear you.
Please, speak, let your words–
The long lost wisdom of ages–
Melt the lard in my eardrums.
I see you dwell in the deep
Of the still waters of peace.
My soul thirsts for a drop.
Oh, Matronly maiden,
Let me rest in your bosom
And hear you speak quietly to me

Alone.

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Ondo, 2020

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Deborah Ajilore is a Nigerian poet, storyteller and photographer. She loves taking sunsets pictures and reading Kdrama recaps. She has published some of her works in the Symphony of Solitude (2020) anthology,  Praxis Magazine and The Quills  amongst others.

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https://www.facebook.com/deborah.ajilore.7

 

https://www.twitter.com/afrofille01

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