- David Ishaya Osu
Selected Poetry by David Ishaya Osu

Photo Source: Raw Pixel
Movable
There was more to say
more to the pulse
an hour of linen
and saying nothing;
there was a movable
thought, a tear, a cup
of tea and saying nothing;
there was a glowing line
between us, a blazing memory
in a sister city; there was
a wild breath and
a feeling of wrung roses
but there was nothing to say
To and fro
Fresh from a friend’s sing
like the end of rivers
Dead to the bone
wet by the side
Of a new wall
we make quick love
To and fro the city
dark and full the lonely field
We try to catch a fly
we try to stand like candlelight
Take my hand and give
me yours to hold
We lost it in a dream
Balance
Slow liquor: body balance: naked
new moon: each vineyard: knowledge
mortal: times wait: concert
I could break my toys
and still be happy
our span is inside the songs / there is
nothing to hide from colors we got
singing: fragile ceilings: many selves
intro: old juices: insane logic
silence: long lines: loving rooms
you take the time to dilute tomorrow
during maths our socks fell off with joy
crystals yearn to ripen before the coming of
circles mate, circles mate, circles mate
Family
This morning, a family accompanied their relative
I want to guess it’s their daughter. As soon as
They started hugging one another goodbye, a woman
Broke into tears.
Then, another girl. The one
travelling, also,
couldn’t hold her tears. They
turned silent,
wiping their tears and feeling
Their hands. You could see
they were not only
connected by blood,
they were connected by tears.
I was looking, amazed,
and didn’t know when
Tears started dripping
down my eyes, too.
As they waved the
final goodbye, before
the bus took off, smiles took over.
And I thought
Two can walk together, two can cry together
Waking up fruity
there’s such a thing as waking up fruity
& forgetting your
numbers time after time
after a bunch of berries you know
you know the way and not the way out
you remember each
chocolate bar; we
undressed into green lights,
wasting away
fuck the door, the faults are mine
in memory of slaws taking over
our bodies /
we are made of curves
Future
a taste of cream
& saffron buns
a taste of one long line turning two
like the sea i transgress & face
myself. the rest: you
do not predict the plum
nor eyelids
nor returning home / to the kitchen
Prayer
you have a cup
glass, you close
your eyes &
her lips are
not strangers
not farewell
the more you
remember
the apple tree
outside / sings
& you do
not say no
to a curl
of hair, in
bed—a rose
calls for prayer

David Ishaya Osu is a poet, memoirist, street photographer. His work has appeared in magazines and anthologies across Nigeria, Uganda, the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Austria, Bangladesh, India, France, South Africa, and elsewhere. He is an associate poetry editor with Plenitude Magazine and the poetry editor of Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel. David runs a virtual coffee shop where he showcases poems, pictures, plays, prompts, perspectives, psyches.
You can find his website here.