Poetry: For Mohmoh by Samuel A. Adeyemi

“For Mohmoh” is a subtle elegy with a visceral echo. Written to honor the memory of a boyhood friend lost too soon: it is delivered through the lens of a brief yet buoyant brotherhood.


For Mohmoh

When I remember you, I remember us—

two boys running around the front

yard, our mothers’ voices like arrows that

do not wound but halt. & soon we’d

stop chasing, the dust falling on our little feet.

I fear this is all I have left of you—

memory so frail, it cannot weave you back.

On the day of your death, I wept but

barely enough. Perhaps I was too young for

grief, my sorrow too fleeting to be named

sorrow. I think of you now & I can hear a

pattering, like a quick pelt on the roof of

my heart. I imagine those are your feet still

running, so I drum my fingers against my

chest, pretending to follow you again.

 

 

 


Samuel A. Adeyemi

Samuel A. Adeyemi is a young writer from Nigeria. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Palette Poetry, 580 Split, Leavings Lit Mag, The Shore, The Rising Phoenix Review, African Writer, The African Writers Review, Jalada, and elsewhere. When he is not writing, he enjoys watching anime and listening to a variety of music. You may reach him on Twitter and Instagram @samuelpoetry

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