Human Elegy

In a specific chapter of my life, / it was a delight to think

In a specific chapter of my life,
it was a delight to think
about being lowered
into the soft mouth of soil.
I desperately wanted to witness
the jaw of earth softening
the worth of my body.
Extracting what little breath it thought
I still harbored. I had hidden God
in a poem where the speaker
cultivates a metaphor about
nearness. For a year, I toiled away
at the door of prayer. Fingers wild
with panic, clawing at an invisible door.
I lobbied heaven for a mild judgment.

About the author

Michael Akuchie's poems have appeared in Poet Lore, The Rumpus, Cosmonauts Avenue, Lost Balloon, Drunk Monkeys, Ecotheo Review, Whale Road Review, and Gordon Square Review. His debut chapbook of poems, Wreck (The Hellebore Press), was published in 2021. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He's on Twitter/X as @Michael_Akuchie.