Quest

I have many things to ask. How much can go wrong?
In Port Harcourt, a woman wastes cassava to feed
Reckless dogs. There is a flood. The woman comes
Close to drowning. Woman, do you have a double life?
My father, come to me. This is the hour of division.
I put you in the water. Can you swim? Swallow
The wind. I am taking a piss. Hold on. Where is she?
I smell something dead growing like true bamboos
In a living room. My brother waits to test his endurance
Against the shoot. Does he need this? With the dead,
He seems complete. Do you still have a son, my father?
I am haunted. I council with sirens & whistle-blowers.
What good thing did you find in your travels? Did you
Find Jesus? I believe in Adwoa. I believe I had a father.
Adwoa sleeps open like a cave. I sleep inside Adwoa.
What have the elders spoken about such competence?
I do not have the time for such questions. I dream dogs.
I have such a terrible countenance for what nourishes.
How long can a man swallow water? Are you still there?
Father, the fate of the woman after the flood worries me.
I am trying. How much can you hold of a son? Hold me.

I Echo (b. Chris Baah) is an MFA student at George Mason University. A Ghanaian-Nigerian, he is the author of 'Among the Secret Things,' forthcoming in the African Poetry Book Fund's New-Generation African Poets Series. His work has been published in Mudroom, The Good Life Review, Ußwali and elsewhere.