When We Begin to Think of Home
Fasasi Abdulrosheed Oladipupo
We remember our friends, those who now have children
Those whose names are called with more purpose.
We remember our mother, mama aging, full of longing
Wanting to carry on her back her grandchildren.
When we begin to think of home, we remember the graves of
Our fathers, our siblings who died before they were ripe,
younger ones rushed home to be buried like corn.
We remember the nightly griefs, the terror watching from distant villages,
We remember our childhood, taming grasshoppers, full of dreams our land killed.
We remember the savor of the rain on famished soil, night whisperings of lovebirds
Under the oak tree, the savor of newly baked bread, the rainbow on festive days.
Fasasi Abdulrosheed Oladipupo is a Nigerian poet & a Veterinary Medical Student, whose first love is art-making. His works have been featured or are forthcoming on The Night Heron Barks Review, Stand Magazine, Louisiana Literature, Olongo Africa, Obsidian: Literature and Art in the African Diaspora, The Citron Review, Kissing Dynamite, Praxis Magazine, 433 Magazine, WriteNow Lit and elsewhere.
About this poem, Fasasi writes, “No matter how good we are in dancing to the exilic song, one day our home will find us. After which its thoughts will flood our minds, we won’t be able to help thinking of our diseased fathers, dying mothers, and our sisters rushed home to be buried like yam seeds.”