A daily reading from One Poem Only—a quiet space for a single poem, read aloud.

An Emblem of Wounds

Henry Opeyemi

We are in the middle of a conversation, the

reflection of our lives upon glossy waters.

We’re twice the age we used to be, shading

home into grief, into a childhood memory.

there is an ophicleide infused in the distance of

souls, singing into the littleness of a heaven: a

prayer old enough for the heaviness I have carried.

a boy from my childhood recognizes me by a face I no longer wear, by a stillness that was once a scream.

My world is an open wound— a phoenix burning into an undying whistle of the wind. we’re betwixt a

waging war, an emblem of songs profused into the flowering of roseash, aren’t we all a singing orchestra

in heaven?

& we won’t stop singing until the world ends in a poem, until immortality is an endless loop of

remembrance. We stood beside the black river, washing down black memories, memorizing the eulogy of

brown gods, a drowning nestling through the theory of names. I looked into the memory, marinated for

the ashes that were burnt to be seen, nebulous as the clouds. syntax of broken bodies wrestling for

wholeness,the world won’t end without us first knowing, and the wound won’t heal without the opening of

another body.

More from Henry Opeyemi ↓

1. @henryopeyemi_ on Instagram

Support + Stay Connected to OPO

If you’d like to support the show, Substack and Patreon members receive a copy of my book, For My Daughter, along with episodes from the audiobook.

Poetry reminds us what matters. Thank you for listening.

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO