MOONLIGHT

Darkness,

Still air,

Slow internet, Open windows,

lights out — but this light;

this pure incandescent gift of nature lights up the entire room;

Like it has come with the “I told you so” answer to why there’s no electricity.

Spine on soft cushion,

Chest bare and flat

Eyes racing from ear to ear,

Looking for the non-existent stars in the Lagos sky.

Didn’t they say stars shine more brightly in the dark?

Didn’t we notice these stars while we were kids?

Were they not a beauty to watch?

Where are they now?

What happened?

But months ago, miles ago, in another clime, stars flooded the sky like they were scrambling for space to breathe.

Some danced!

To the tune of patterns and shapes pythagoras might have been jealous of!

Some shone beautifully

Like that bride that used local shear butter as sun screen!

Some in their own space —

Their territory; delicate and pale

As if they are telling a sad but hope themed story.

The wayward ones,

Were positioned like there was mutiny in the dark sky

And the moon was in for it!…

It was under this sky love was promised and rejected

It was under this beautiful sky that we ate and drank and made merry. Hoping for the best after youth service!

It was this beautiful sky that lit the red earth of the parade ground while we had morning devotion and “woke Nigeria up”

The air was beautiful and sweet

It played strange music to the ears —

The tune of the gods maybe.

Rain poured without any form of pettiness

To bless farmers who have longed for showers of blessing,

And to usher harmattan and those seasonal fruits in

Nostalgia quickly sets in!

Memory fades , the stars fade and we are back in time — back in Lagos

Moon-lit room becomes noticed again,

No harmattan

Just…

Still air

Darkness.