Uche Nduka
From Dawn To Gut
First we feast
then we fast
a running
conversation
between us
the mystery
of sex
in marriage
presence
appears disappears
arms cross uncross
so goes love’s
declension
after the fall
of the wall
when more
is not enough
overshot
the target
of that game
of chance
After Fate
Keep going
the words want
to make waves with you
these curves
have suns
you’ll find me
in your garden
of thorns
an apprehension
that extends
beyond milkweed
poetry can’t defend
the brokenhearted
from brokenness
why ask the poet
to maintain a tone
of measured anguish
wandering attention
to learn from
and obsess about
Umbrella
I yield
to your caresses,
your inner
melody,
rays of the cunt,
the destination
you have chosen
without going over
the edge,
letting it ripple,
stroking it,
waiting,
listening,
as your fingers
slide in
and out,
until you reach
the G-Spot
and
head for home.
Attendance
When we’re stretched
to our limits we explore
the depths of our lusts we
become morning fishers messing
about in sailboats sky in our
ears sky in our mouths sky
in the hands in the arms coming
out of nowhere “anxieties of
white fragility” bodies grown past
the moon or a bather that
says never say never batting
her eyelashes
Retracking
The presence of artillery shells.
Bombs were and are intentional
statements.
No room for a slip of tongue.
Ahead of the news anchor.
Murder, disorder, blizzard.
Effulgent prophylactic.
Depth of the rampage.
Starvation.
Refugees.
Hours counting us
when surrender is anything but.
Dross of a diorama.
Reluctant to move on.
Based in New York City, Uche Nduka is the author of 13 volumes of poems, including Scissorwork (Roof Books, 2022), Fretwire (Griots Lounge, 2022), Facing You (City Lights, 2020), and Living in Public (Kristiania Collective, 2018). Some of his essays can be found online and elsewhere. His writing has been translated into Italian, Finnish, Arabic, German, Turkish, and Romanian.
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