Poem: Let the children become birds by Peter Elias

A mind wants to be omniscient:
The wind that flocks in the sky,
Water that crowd humanity,
& the biology of time

But a mother with a pestle hand
Pounds the science of life out of her son—
Who seeks the communion of other children’s tittering
Hearts that raises a sun in his head

The cry of his flesh heralds a rumor
That sickens the community’s ear,
Only to become unending cry of the river

His mind is never weary
To break instruction from thunder
& make his body dance like a bird

The woman becomes a glaring cage
Vying for the flesh of her son
Whose legs are the blurprint of freedom

ABOUT POET

Peter Elias Ashiwhobere is a Nigerian poet and writer. He has performed his poems on several platforms: the Pan African Space Station, Lagos Book and Art Festival and Lagos International Poetry Festival, among others. He is resident in Lagos, Nigeria. His phone number (09037338334) and email (peter.elias22@yahoo.com)