staring out at Offin

turned all peaceful

beneath the fallen sun.

Kwasi sits on the shore,

leans back

on his elbows, tells me

to make it quick,

because we should not even be here,

because he is hungry

again,

then flips

the sandglass over

and yells,

KO!

ON LAP AFTER LAP

to the big rock

I fly

even faster

with my head submerged,

but what swims

through my mind

is the time

Mr. Phillip read to us

about Julius Caesar

daring his rival Cassius

to jump into the Tiber River

and race him

and almost drowning

until Cassius saves him,

only to later help

his own brother-in-law, Brutus,

kill him.

All I can think about is

if I do not beat

my cousin,

in my heart

I will have suffered

the same fate

as Caesar.

CALLING

Nana Mosi says

that the rivers are the sacred space

where our ancestors dwell

so that they can assist you

during times of need.

Well, right now

they must think

I need them bad

because as I approach

the bank

I hear the river

bubbling over rocks

and branches,

flowing so loud

it sounds like

they are screaming

at me.

HIDING

When I come out

I do not see my brother

lounging riverside

but I do see

his timepiece lying

in the same spot

where he sat,

and even though

I know he is probably hiding

and wants me to find him,

for a moment I grin, thinking

that maybe the beasts

he is always chattering about

have finally come

for him.

SEARCHING

He is not

on the beach

buried beneath sand

waiting to pop up

and scare me

like a ghost…

STILL SEARCHING

He is not spying

on me

behind a palm tree

or perched in it

waiting to jump out

and grab me

like a bandit…

NOWHERE

When I call his name

for the seventh time

there is still no answer

only the sound

of the night winds

roaming the forest

and carrying a silence

now marked by

a familiar fear.

Mine.

I WISH

it was after school

I wish

it was after school and Ebo and I were laughing

I wish

it was after school and Ebo and I were laughing and trailing Ama

I wish

it was after school and Ebo and I were laughing and trailing Ama and her friends

I wish

it was after school and Ebo and I were laughing and trailing Ama and her friends

all the way to the river

I wish

it was after school and Ebo and I were laughing and trailing Ama and her friends

all the way to the river and when we got there we all jumped in

I wish

it was after school and Ebo and I were laughing and trailing Ama and her friends

all the way to the river and when we got there we all jumped in and Ama and I sat on the riverbank

I wish