Olajuwon Alhaytham Adedokun

Olajuwon Alhaytham Adedokun
was born in 2004, Olajuwon lives and writes from Lagos, Nigeria. He is a Foyle Young poet of 2020. He has been published in many magazines, Praxis Magazine and Writers Space Africa included.

Colours and Synonyms

The girl I once asked God for
now bleaches her skin into darkness, laughs hysterically
at the white – orange burning
of her esteem,
names it beauty.

My Chemistry textbook says
Chlorine is a bleaching agent,
I imagine her bathing with it,
her mother, standing by the bathroom door,
saying Black goat, Too black from my liking.

She, peeling her own skin
into the colour she likes.
learning new synonyms with
the fire on her lips, saying,
Black —Goat,
White —love.