The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: local remdies by Chiagoziem Jideofor

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wild

    there should be a heavy influence of music here, yell out loud when you catch the vibe

i get off the bus with my head high
settled curls on my head mark me as the shit

i threaten my roommates with prank calls
our surreal love stinks up the whole apartment

we laugh over a bowl of rice
daily bread our lord provides in empty calories

i shower and sing with Beethoven
behind, i renege on my claim to not gorge on these exotic things

i am stuck home and dealing
the bastards upstairs are playing cards and yelling gringo at intervals

after a long day, my mouth releases contracted Os
too tired of faking it, i only dive after unsaid words

there are some soiled laundries to do
thousands of expletives for people asking me to speak louder

i rinse and dry my tongue, a nightly routine
a clean tongue communes directly with the heart

i say a frightening prayer and name my hell
she masquerades as a small town swallowing soldiers



i fall asleep only to see my neighbors
in a dream shooting—attacking this peace i can afford

there is no rest here
we’ve come shaped by the hardship at home

when i say beat me and then release me
fear the wild that has found home in me

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