By Nginyu Gerard

EMIGRATION

Through the geographical ovens of the Sahel and the Sahara
Drowning in a sea of ambitions
Drugged by a concoction of obsessions and disappointments
Smoked out of their kitchens: a passport used at a port of dinghies;
Whose fragility and texture are sides of a penny
They rush with to purchase an unknown future

In choosing to dig a well
They hope to stretch the arms of thirst to its death
Smashing themselves out of mother’s womb: disowning the land given to them by father
The Mediterranean to them is a line of fire in-between life and death
Libya is purgatory made proximate to hell
Engineers trained by greed, construct efficient canals
For the smuggling of bodies and not humans
The earth is given a malicious helping hand by the ocean for the
reception of bodies

The speed and direction of these cars are modulated by accidents
For the resurgence of life, man is the animal they must sacrifice
Seduced by La Nina, they board Santa Maria with tickets of free will
And with the help of impatience, they reap the future premature.

Nginyu Gerard
NGINYU GERARD was born in Cameroon, West Africa. He is the youngest of three, principally brought up by his mother and has a BA in sociology. He does not write for a living, but to live. For him, a billion dollars will never be worth more than the publication of a chapbook. He was nominated for the Yeovil Literary Prize in 2017.
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