An Experimentation of “SHEGE” on the Body of a Boy Who Doesn’t Know That Life is Like a Spoon

Hassan A. Usman

shege (n)

/adversity/

Etymology: Nigerian Pidgin tonight before the witches flash into the darkness / your mother takes a long walk into your body / there / you know nothing about grief / about dying / vibrations of unhappiness after blissful moments / all your life / you were held in God’s hand / constellating the beams from the stars on the black of your body / once / you were asked to define loss / & you said it’s when your mother cries over a missing strand of her hair / i.e. / everything that frightens you is intangible / boy / how much of this delusion is unintentional? / look out of the window / tonight / the wind will show you shege / the shege is— your mother exits your body / and finds the wind at the entrance / where the wind is a beautiful name for somewhere between life & death / they hug / they shake hearts / they couldn’t find each other unwelcoming / boy / look into the mirror / you’ve fallen out of God’s favour / you’re burning from too much light