Naija Poetry

Rotimi Laguda

Rotimi Laguda

Monday 24 April 2023

There once was a time when I didn't understand the concept. There once were days when I heard the words "self-harm"

and couldn't wrap my mind around the why.

But now,

I know.

I know the emptiness that fills your chest, the desperate need for something that will make things feel different.

anything

Burning your skin, cutting your skin, just to feel something… something deeper than the pain you already feel.

Something to turn the hurt into something palpable.

You want to die, you hate yourself. But everyone thinks you have it easy.

Tick tock, the clock is clicking. “Drown yourself, kill yourself”, the voice gets louder in your head

This is the song

that loops round in your head late at night in the darkness. And you know it's no good

the subliminal message is poison, but your lips form the words like scattered leaves move to the wind.