Mystic Lovers

 —Collaborative Poetry (tan-renga)
by Uchechukwu Onyedikam of Lagos, Nigeria,
and Christina Chin of Malaysia
(Italicized lines are by italicized authors)
—Orchid Photos Courtesy of Public Domain

 

 

closer…
the sound of horse hoofs
the melody
in her heart
the strums of banjo 


—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam

* * *

her love—
a masterpiece
of cosmic pull
bridging the gulf of two
distant fervent hearts

—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam 

 

 

 

 

expecting a beloved—
she arranges the orchids
in a certain way
a mystic lover
worthy of note

—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam

* * *


oh beloved
across the bridge
come
stay a while till
the stars are gone

—Uchechukwu Onyedikam/Christina Chin

 

 

 

a sudden hostility
of normal period
lights off—
clinging onto him tightly
the reptilian skin rips

—Uchechukwu Onyedikam/Christina Chin


* * *


the toad
flicks its tongue
the taste of liver
washed down with
a glass of red wine

—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam 

 

 

 

 

ancestral spirit—
cemented on the rocks
pawprints
the dangling pendant
of the neckpiece

—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam

* * *

half awake
slowly reaching
for the phone alarm       
only takes deep night to rise
the full yellow sun

—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam 

 

 

 

 


ailing african child
in the book
of yesterday
reads about
a strange city boy


—Uchechukwu Onyedikam/Christina Chin

* * *

chaka chak
song
to the rhythm
of whirling wind      
festival dance 


—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam


_____________________

Today’s LittleNip:

If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.

—Alfred Tennyson

_____________________

Welcome back to the Kitchen to Uchechukwu Onyedikam and Christina Chin, who first visited us with their intriguing tan-renga collaborations on Jan. 25 of this year. For more about these poets, go to https://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/01/dark-moonearthrise.html/. For more about tan-renga, see https://www.graceguts.com/essays/an-introduction-to-tan-renga/.

_____________________

—Medusa, with condolences to SnakePal Taylor Graham, whose dog, Loki, passed away last night. Orchids to you, Loki, and to TG, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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