cw: implied violence, graphic content
Sometimes I wish I could disappear 
into the lines of my verse and become
​

words weaving pleasant stories of my 
father and I by the edge of a moonlit river


slurping palm wine, splitting femurs
and cracking skulls from a steaming


bowl of pepper soup. I wish to be 
lost in scintillating echoes of Osadebe’s 


highlife, moving rhythmically to the rocking 
drums of Oliver De Coque and the poignant 


flutes of Emeka Morocco’s hit song until I become 
a leaf dancing in the wind. I wish I were drenched in cold 


sweat flipping from one foot to the other while the
stream of dance dust kisses the sky. I wish to watch 


my father giggle with a timber of pride nodding 
diligently to every move I make in dust dance. Away from 


gory images of chopped corpses and burnt streets. Away 
from spouted blood caked on walls. Away from hell 


rolled in tongues of bayonets. Let the sea sipping joy in my
heart become a newly wedded bride. Let the rain meet 


me in my fantasies and become the circadian rhythm of the 
earth. Let the crippled pigeon become a horse


and walk on stars. I want to sit still in the night 
alone with my father listening to the chitter of crickets 


and the noiseless buzz of fireflies pierced in the belly 
of our thoughts. 
Joseph C.P. Christopher is a poet. He is the author of Salient Whispers (2014) which was shortlisted for ANA/Chevron award for poetry in 2014 and his newest collection is titled Dust in the Rain (2020). His works have appeared in Aurora Journal, The Hellebore Press, Praxis Literary Magazine, Lunaris Review, and are forthcoming in Beir Bua Journal, The Tide Rises Literary Journal, Ample Remains Journal, Sturgeon Review, Derailleur Press among other journals. He is currently a doctoral candidate with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He lives in Abuja.
header image: Viviana Rishe via Unsplash