A Poem by D.M. Aderibigbe

GENUINENESS

Inside the world we created with love and honesty,
Beside the root of a civilization of nests we rest.

We study for a degree in comparative studies, in the jungle.
The male bird and his wife,
You are
Who's happier?

This is an examination question,
Your response, a total failure like
A shoo-in that crashes out in the preliminary stage of
A competition.

The birds can't be as happy as we are. Their
Union will wither before she lays the sweet liquid he banks in her,

What is genuine about a lonely widow's smile?



D.M Aderibigbe is a 23-year old writer from Lagos, Nigeria, an undergraduate student of History and Strategic Studies of the University of Lagos. He writes poetry, fiction, non-fiction, plays and lyrics. His work has been published or forthcoming in the UK, Canada, Australia, Nepal and the United States by, Vox Poetica, Pressboard press, UP Literature, HUSMW Press, The New Black Magazine, Misfits' Miscellany, Thickjam, Ditch Poetry, Bluepepper,The Applicant, Rusty Nail, Jellyfish Whispers and Wordriot. His debut novel Sisyphean, will be published in America, soon. He lives and schools in Lagos.