Amaechi

how carefully we chose our men:
i, Amaechi from the corner store.
you, others. how careful. and yet

i couldn’t have been more stupid:

to say Oluwa and not mean God,
to be begging for a man instead?

who would have thought i’d tear
so overtly down the middle? ‘say

a prayer for my love and i. our
revelry has birthed a child. our
child has birthed indifference.’

i’m certain this is what it means
to disappear while still alive. ‘sin
is not magic,’ ma said. ‘forbidden

means just that. he will not return,
save to see if the baby has his eyes.’