Martins Iyoboyi- Two Poems

Common Road

A viper’s fang, two-pronged,

fueling death’s fearful prospects

News of careless ends,

when ambitious seekers bend their course,

protesting a nation’s madness

Blood pools, crescents of ceaseless sights,

and thick jams, of angry citizens,

Kept in sprees of halted hours

And soon, another death, stillness

when uniformed pawns come

seeking bribes for their shame.

HIV-Positive Ward

Dreaded like a leper, words

Sink of pedantic deaths, spreading,

Wings where blood is tagged –

Skin-dry, sockets beaten by pangs,

Living hopes consumed by the roots,

Passersby hurry without a stare –

The air, fear-gripped,

Aids news of crispy deaths –

Knowing physicians, bent to nurse,

Rebuke by sideward nods thick outside stigma …

Martins Iyoboyi is a Nigerian. His poems have appeared in several journals including Aji, Rhythm, Munyori Poetry, Contemporary Rhyme, Jellyfish Whisper, International Zeitschift, 63 Channels, Flask Review, Bending Spoons, Collective Fallout, The New Verse News, Chiron Review Poetry Cemetery, Boyne Writers Group, MotherVerse, Tenemos, Hat and The Mind[less] Muse.