once upon a time, i was who my youngest brother is now -
the gold standard; my father's favourite. despised my wicked witch of a mother and her misery. worked hard for validation and little else.
did not eat. did not cry. did as i was told.
at some point, the script flipped:
my grades fell. my arm broke. my paternal grandmother went home to nigeria.
it was then i, realised i was not the protagonist
because of it, screamed at my father i hated him and earned myself a slap. never said it again but the setement was always there
which is to say:
for me, childhood was no coming-of-age story. (those are resevered only for boys) rather it was the set up, the backstory -
that informed the rebel(lion) i am, today
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the failings of a surgically healed heart | a collection
Poesía「 WATTYS 2019 WINNER 」 the failings of a surgically healed heart, is a series of autobiographical poems arranged into six thematic parts to form a collection which examines the idea of the collective and how that informs individual. i. family an exp...
