Gazelle Mba
Ways of making love: list them
Because I do not know
How. Because I am a virgin. Because
There is a flower couched
Uncrushed within me. Because
All I know about sex is a lie,
A bloodletting
A vampire’s bite.
A boy
Bends his head
Against iron railings
Closes his eyes,
Feels the dick of another boy.
Fear a relic, a wooden cross,
Holy water, held in a chalice.
I didn’t know his name,
Only, that our town said
What to do with him?
Did he want it, or not?
You, kind doctor
Walk slowly,
With the wish of bursting
Through walls.
My mouth parting for you
Like the red sea
You say to me open
And I open. Your words
A magic key.
I still draw hearts
On Valentines Day,
Colour them red.
Pick candy out,
From gaps, in my teeth.
Gazelle Mba has twice been named a Foyle Young Poet of the Year and edits for the literary journal Polyphony H.S. Gazelle hails from Abuja, Nigeria and studied at Clifton College, Bristol, UK.
This poem is not previously published.