Today, I learnt how to empty my body of the world in parts,
Told my shoulders to hold no weight if possible, carry only what it must.
Asked my legs to stop, the journey can always continue tomorrow,
Life is not a race and if it were, the prizes would still be ours.
Closed my palms,
there is no warmth to offer here,
we only have enough for us,
Clasping them, switch curses with prayers for my soul through closed lips.
Asked those same lips to forgive the mouths that make it remember the taste of saliva,
theirs.
Placed a “closed” sign above my chest, today we are not an abode for rest,
Shut the doors of my heart,
we let in no affection, we let out no love, only blood passes,
It only beats, becoming the drummer the maker must have wanted it to be.
Today, my body found rest in itself,
it did not feel like a sin
To read this and more work by Pazqal, order a copy of the drr issue of Ritual here.
Pazqal Eriq Umehea is a Unicorn Poet and YouTuber who is fascinated with flowers in clay pots. His poems have been published online with African Writer magazine, Praxis online magazine and Ake Review ’19.
