"Reclamation Of A Land Once Stolen" & "Only A Name" by Akleyiaha R.

Reclamation Of A Land Once Stolen

Her dress flows.

Silk of mulberry heavied by tears.

Yampee-eyed, cracked lips

in the yolk of day. She appears

hollowed.

She tells me its time

to gather the pieces that ran astray,

to wash this temple sullied by hands that grasp

and bruise

and take;

to whip this body with redemption and sage.

Her dress falls.

Silk of mulberry gathered at her ankles.

Hesitant eyes look upon strange land

in the egg of day. She appears

hopeful.

I tell her its time

to puzzle the pieces, caught and tamed

to sanctify this body, still sacred

still worthy,

unchanged.

I await her repossession.

Only A Name

Weary walls whisper a name

in the haunting eye of night as cold winds

rattle the remains of days, long gone,

still etched across my cerebrum.

I mourned my dead like a nation at war –

indeed we must press on

to any end, at any cost.

I mourned my dead none at all

for what good is it to wail and long.

Still, as the night crawls,

I have gained nothing at all

but echoes of torment

and our memories’ gall.

Akleyiaha R is a twenty-one year old Trinidadian poet. She is an entrepreneur and student, and has been writing since the age of twelve. She marvels at self-expression through the art forms. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Dipity Literary Magazine and The Bibliopunk. Her debut book, 'The Skins I've Shed' is coming soon.