"Ritual of Becoming is a poem with rich language and intricate imagery" —Pawners Paper
"Ritual of Becoming is a poem with rich language and intricate imagery"
—Pawners Paper
RITUAL OF BECOMING
is baptism.
& rivulet of grief breaks,
pouring into deep waters.
you naked & bare, flesh & spirit
steeping & sousing into homage(s).
for old sores & scratches
creaking the mirror of light.
it is baptism.
body, penitent & apparel white.
before the priest, bent & buried,
you swoon in mid-water.
— dredging out, as deliberate as sifting
through scars & birthing a bland skin.
you desired to illume like the glitters
of fresh dawn. & exfoliate like the skins of
bedewed roses. bet grief reveals, reveling
the dance of longing. & water immerses a body
dripping, drenching in light. & light purging
itself of bravery. you distant your poem from
chiming dim. hollering dark. & singing blue.
yet you buzzed in your spirit & never spiraled
into new beginnings. & today, you rustle like the
pages of old-stricken memories. & the old stenches
of grief. God, again, bear this body before this deep,
naked & bare doused in living water, dewing for dawn.
About The Poet
Chinemerem Prince Nwankwo, is currently a final year student of the Department of History and International Studies, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. He was shortlisted for the Sevhage-KSR Hyginus Ekwuazi Poetry Prize, 2023 and was placed as the Second Runner Up, SprinNG Annual Poetry Prize, 2023. He is the Poetry Editor, The Cloudscent Journal and the Assistant Poetry Editor, Arkore Arts. He loves to read and write about Africa, Women, and Children.
If not writing from the solemn corners of his room, he enjoys prayer walking in the cool of the evening, watching and critiquing movies, and enjoying the fun sights of travel.
He tweets @ CP Nwankwo.
INTALK CONVERSATION: Chinemerem Prince Nwankwo Offers an Intriguing Insight into Poetry
Photo Credit: Pexel
COMMENTS