Songs of Anisha
“Down the Nile,”
by Biodun Idowu
You said ‘look into my eyes’ and
I wondered what I was meant to see.
You held me in your arms, kissed me,
light, heavy, deep and fleeting.
I melted, flowed, formed and hid my face.
You see, I was afraid, I am afraid
of what you can do to me with
your hands, lips, your mind.
I am so afraid of losing who I am.
You said stay in my arms, I said
‘Hold me, hold me now and just…hold me’
You did.
There are no answers for where we’ll be
tomorrow but right here, right now
I feel alright.
That’s good enough for me.
Is it good enough for you?
We could be sailing past each other next week,
on different ships, to different lands.
For this moment that I ask you
for the simplest mundane thing
and you obeyed.
I am sold, to this, out to this.
For today, for each day that it works and
when the tides come in and your ship
has got to set sail.
I will be waving fondly from mine
Shedding no tears, holding tight
the moment you took something mundane,
made it special and gave it to me.
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