Crescent’s Quest
And Atlantis has risen in Maiduguri
Gullets blowing out prayers to grow gills
Paddling limbs have become wet wings too weak for ascension
Shore is beneath the flood
And the people have to drown to get to land
Faith, diluted, snorkeled in soggy tongues
Hyponatremia bodies and submarined homes
Breathless trees; soaked vegetables
Flushed zoo; marinated apes in the cold arms of water
In the center of the city, a mosque holds its crescent above the flood
Begging God for liberation
From this damning cleanse
Lord, if this be another Genesis
From whose tongue will the prophecy drift?
The city is gorged and heavy with its tears
The people are filtering into the fringes
in fishboats. Awaiting the sun
To burn out the flood and warm their homes
And they’ll flock back with thirsty feet and hungry lungs
to tell the tale—
How they have become Almijiris in their own city
This poem, a miserable riddle. Tell me,
How a city of water can be deserted? Tell me, how a flood can be burned?
Agboola Tariq A., Swan II, is a poet & he studies Law at the University of Ibadan. His writing explores self / identity and space. His works are featured or forthcoming at Lucent Dreaming, ANMLY, Aké Review, SoFloPoJo, Variety Pack, Fiery Scribe Review, Olumo Review, Overtly Lit, & elsewhere. He won the Blessing Kolajo Poetry Prize ‘24, 1st runner-up Fireflies Prize ‘24, and a SprinNG 2024 Fellow. He is on X @Agboola_Tariq_A.
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