“Dear Darlene” by Blessing O. Nwodo
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Dear Darlene” by Blessing O. Nwodo.
Dear Darlene
By Blessing O. Nwodo
Darlene, nobody holds anything tightly here
children, colder than ice caps, rip
through the bodies of mothers waiting
on stoops for the phone to ring
husbands leave to start fifth families
Nobody owes you anything, their friends
say to kids left behind, throats raw from weeping
lovers bury relationships as soon as
summer is resurrected from chilly necropoli
friends leave your messages on read
in this place, the word neighbour
means the same as stranger
community is a tax collector that
owes you nothing but demands everything
Darlene, nobody holds anything tightly here
and the loose grip makes everything shaky
like untightened bolts on the hinges of the universe
Copyright © Blessing O. Nwodo
Blessing O. Nwodo is a Nigerian writer residing in Toronto. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she also holds an MFA from the University of Guelph. She is a finalist of the 2021 Toyin Fálọlá Prize, 2021 African Writers Awards, the 2019 Lost Balloon Pushcart Prize for Speculative Fiction, and others. When she’s not relishing fashion, she can often be found pulverizing the patriarchy. She is working on a collection of short stories, and a novel.
Subscribe to Poetry Pause, or support Poetry Pause with a donation today!