In the bus, two ladies sit by my side
& I take that as a sign: my contact list will
increase before I arrive in Benin
Parks in Lagos, you’ll see vendors hawk
power banks / cookies / drinks / toothbrushes
Hell, you’ll see cobblers anticipating travelers with dented shoes
People will pray for your trip like they hold sway
of the unfurling road / the splaying sky & expect their
pockets to deepen with naira notes
Vital things, like earphones, should top your travel checklist
I’ve traveled every year of my life to know
their significance, yet that day mine was nonexistent in my backpack
A phone stacked up with movies clenched in my hand
& I was compelled to listen to two ladies bicker about
who would win big brother as if their existence dangled on the argument /
their talks invigorated the oxygen in the bus
In the end, my contact list remained the same.
Praise Osawaru is a Nigerian writer, (performance) poet, & wannabe entrepreneur studying at the University of Benin, Nigeria. His works have appeared/forthcoming in African Writer, Afritondo, Kreative Diadem, Ngiga Review, Perhappened Magazine, Praxis Magazine & elsewhere. He was longlisted for African Writers Award 2019 & shortlisted in the 2019 Kreative Diadem Creative Writing Contest. When he isn't overworrying about life, he's reading, or binge-watching. Find him on twitter: @wordsmithpraise (www.twitter.com/wordsmithpraise)