At the World’s Edge (After Kofi Awoonor)
By John Chinaka
I am here, where land forgets itself.
Before my gaze is a river.
I can't move forward,
After my dreams,
Or backward to my fears.
I dip my toes into the river—
With questions heavier than water:
To walk on the river, or
To walk aback
The shore of my first breath?
I am at the edge of the world,
A beautiful dream before my heart's eyes,
A river sparkling to the skies—
The will to go hitherto,
And the trepidation to turn back.
But over the other side of the river,
There are voices like untamed flutes
Of them who have broken the river.
But now the question lies here:
How did they break the river?
Here at the edge of the world,
I sit wondering: does the river dream of me
As I dream of it.
John Chinaka Onyeche is a Nigerian writer based in Port Harcourt, and a historian from Etche in Rivers State. While he is dedicated to ensuring that the full scope of history is accurately represented, John now writes about family, broken home, the effect on its victims, and survival. His writing can be found in various journals, including York Literary Review, McNeese Review, Pier Review, Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival Anthology, Tilted House Journal, The Shallow Tales Review, Akewi Magazine, and Brittle Paper, etc. He is a Best of Net/Pushcart nominee respectively.