Father Dances, Not I By Tega Ohwerhoye

I am having to unlearn things -
Like the gift of the journey is not always in the arrival.

I am having to unlearn things -
That I do not need the night's darkness
I am enough.

I am having to unlearn things -
This stem that I am,
Stem off Father's tree,
Is too heavy for me.
Eagles and vultures find solace here
And I am to touch the earth every time.
This is good for Father
For His roots are sunken deep in the sea.

But I swing back and forth in the whistling of lover boys
Strolling past at dusk with lilies for roses
I like to be the stem that I am
But to be firm
Not a companion to every passing shadow

I am learning that I may one day break
And a whistling will drop me on a rock.
I am having to unlearn to be a tree -
To be Father.
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Tega Ohwerhoye was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He is mostly interested in poetry and flash fiction. His works explore the themes of identity, home, and religion, among others.