The Poem in Which I Open Myself Like a Door by Kolawole Samuel Adebayo (Lucent Dreaming Issue 7)

There is a small voice inside us all.
A spirit— if you please —
known to you only.
You only.

Who knows the spirit of a man
beyond the body housing it?

I have known mine to rebel—
a dog straying deep into the wild fields,
away from that damned whistle of control.
What you call rebellion is my spirit saying: 
go in the way where no one goes. Be free.

Wildness is a beautiful thing—
a tree sitting on a hill where no plants germinate.
What grows beyond the wild fields?
I cannot know if I listen to this sound
separate from the sound inside me.

In my dreams,
I am that dog. I am so beautiful.
I walk beyond the wild fields
& it feels like I am a kite —
a free soul following the wind’s movement.

But when I’m awake,
I am still as I am —
obedient to voices that should be foreign to me.
I localize these exotic sounds
& make them a home inside me.

My new obsession is to be bold enough
to be the straying dog.
I do not want to only dream this rebellion.
I want to own it.
What is a dream if it doesn’t feel the sun’s glow?

A fig tree cursed by the Lord. A bulb without filament.
A moonless night. Deep darkness.

I pledge to the voice inside me,
to open myself like a door & let it out.

Kolawole Samuel Adebayo (he/him) is an old soul in a young Nigerian body whose poems seek to awaken the human consciousness. His works have appeared or forthcoming on Kanstellation, The Kalahari Review, Glass Poetry, Button Poetry, Burning House Press, The Amethyst Review, Mojave Heart Review, Praxis Magazine, Kreative Diadem, and elsewhere. Kolawole won the April Edition of the Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest in 2017. He is a poetry reader at Feral Journal.

Browse issue 7 in full.

Lucent Dreaming is an independent creative writing magazine publishing beautiful, imaginative and surreal short stories, poetry and artwork from emerging authors and artists worldwide. Our aim is to encourage creativity and to help writers reach publication! Subscribe to Lucent Dreaming now, support us on Patreon and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.