"Yaradilis" A Poem By Muiz Opeyemi — Pawners Paper

i trace lines across the edge of shadows call it a self portrait as if the reflection was not enough as if the lens would remember the pixel half...

Yaradilis is a poem that puts the readers in a pod to ruminate and enlarge their imaginations of things due to the poet's diction. The poet, Muiz Opeyemi, delivers words strong enough to captivate the readers' mind, give them a spare space on the memory lane, confusion, self-discovery and the heart that yearns for love.

Yaradilis

he knows me well enough

insofar

he knows there's no me

that me is a puff of smoke

dissipating like air expelled from tired lungs, as if

in a desperate search for...

cactus fruits are sweet

they remind me of things i've never tasted

like love like pain like fam

maybe i lied, maybe

they only gave me a rumbling stomach

something to forget them for

maybe they're as familiar as

the vet's smug smile to a cock

or a girl, or

a snorkel drowning in a puddle across the street

maybe i made all that up

i trace lines across the edge of shadows

call it a self portrait

as if the reflection was not enough

as if the lens would remember the pixel

half a quarter of a year later

speaking of reflections

i still run down the river

hoping to catch

a glimpse of him on the surface

but the sight is blurry

like the dubbed movies

that watch our sleepy heads

on the couch at night

thankfully I still recollect the smell of my breath

i'll remind him to take note of

the one too many traits that

makes the mind a traitor to the self

BIO

Muiz Opeyemi Ajayi, a young poet and writer, is a fresh undergraduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. 

He writes conventional & unconventional poetry on diverse subjects including identity, personality conflict, but's & maybe's, as well as experiences from living in the Western part of Nigeria. 

Follow him on Instagram @real_bardboi and reach him on Facebook @Muiz Opeyemi Ajayi

Read more: Werge Flomp Humor Poetry Prize