Sunday, 3 October 2021

Lovesong for my Wasteland, Sequence XXX by Remi Raji

Trapped, double-trapped, triple-trapped 
I feel the outlaw's pain 
I know the anguish of exile 
I feel the decimal of failure in the hearts of men. 
So I know. I know 
Why my sisters hang onto the certainty of damnation 
I know why everywhere my brothers turn 
They expect the handshakes of humiliation 
And I know why they don't trust even their shadows in motion. 
We've once been trapped like mice in the vice of death.

Trapped, double-trapped, triple-trapped...


Remi Raji


Remi Raji is a Nigerian poet, scholar, literary organiser and cultural activist. Raji’s first collection of poems – A Harvest of Laughters (1997) – has won national and international recognition. 

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