by Nkosi Nkululeko
—A Crown of Monometer Sonnets
1.
—I flew /through fields /with dewed /air peel/ing
be/tween space /and sea, /retrac/ing
my /childhood /where I /watched good
/memor/ies hoard—
2.
—Hordes of /feathers /weathered /above
/our blood-/stained earth /and churched /the blood
/to teach /us how /to grow
/while bleed/ing thous/and-fold—
3.
—Days fold /in my /enclose/ures— my
/brief si/lence that /reminds /me that
/I’ll die /alone /or die /while lone/ly
or die /alive—
4.
—To live /is im/possi/ble
in /one life, /those ten/der
nights /are count/less lives
/we count /like stars, /recount/ing
mar/vels: ours—
5.
—Our mar/vels are /our in/ventions,
/turning /us to /ghosts,
like /wings and /wars
and /windows
/through which /we flew—