Cletus Nelson Nwadike`s Poems

1

When I die

I want to be buried

in two graves

In my friends´ hearts

and in a short black

poem

2

First time

I kissed a girl

was at night

She became so confused

She left her bra

under a mango tree

and ran home

3

I dreamed

I came home

but my mother

didn´t recognize me

I tried to explain to her

but she just went away

and didn´t leave any food for me

I went and sat by myself

where everyone in the village

could look at me

but no one understood me anymore

I began to cry

and everyone in the village came

and spoke in a language

I no longer understood

4

When I slept

God

stole a peek at

the poems in my heart

When I woke

He asked me to write

in the water, in the fire

and in the wind as well

He knew that

a poet

creates himself

I am the white-clad dove

who carries the wisdom

the earth lacks

5

Often the voice of conscience whispers

Often we silence it

Always we have to pay

6

The dead have been gone too long

to be able to come back

I heard them

whisper beside the sea

dressed in black veils

they stand at the window at night

they want to hear my breathing

8

Often the voice of conscience whispers 

Often we silence it 

Always we have to pay

9

The dead came to me 

And asked me 

to read their poems 

And translate them 

Death is alone 

That’s  why it behaves 

The way it does

10

The wind meets my soul 

On the mountain - top and 

On the earth 

My footsteps in the sand 

Have been erased 

Why does destiny deceives 

man?

And always the wind drives 

The rainless clouds

Translated by Martin Severýn