Read Poem: DEBRIS, by Abdulmueed Balogun

I am learning to forgive myself, how to scour the floor
Of my dilapidating soul of remorse
& scrap the debris of regret off the pate of my mind.

Tell me:

Is the world

Now safe for us, the crumbs of creation,

Frail-hearted beings, to tread?

Has the black-hearted men bartered
Their enormity for light at the bazaar of redemption?

You whose rare smile rekindle
The moribund flame of hope
In my aghast chest,
Hang me like a gem in your vault of vows.

There’s a part of me gradually going dinosaur
A tribe in my mind slowly caressing the lips of oblivion

Don’t blame me, dear admirers,
For always acting blind to the roses

You drop every dawn at my door:
The traumas, blazing embers

Of the past are still very much alive.