Consider a lilac. Haute couture. Purple royal— unbent to the wind.
Knees poised,
springing into summer; blooming on a threshold. Beyond is
the sun

and he that blocks out the sun. Beyond is
the bloom

and eyes that peer at the bloom. Blinking
purple,

perhaps reflective. Glassy,

perhaps considering. Beyond is
the abdication

and hands that bend the knee. Fingers that caress like a storm;
a chill that

breaks the spine. Surgery or autopsy, the flower has
been cured

of life. Birth seeking rebirth. Born
then born,

again. Until garden becomes flower bed. Until flower
bed becomes

grave.

Consider a boy. Collected as
a bouquet,

blushing in the snow. Red,
then blue,

then purple. Like a bruise, or a boy
covered in

a bruise. That blooms like a flower, protesting, Lilac is also
the colour

of blood. Ask the boy.’ To die in abnegation?
He has

killed. Behold his hand; part
wound, part

murder weapon. Purple then lilac;
blood then

bloodied. He plucks a flower

and plants himself. Unsure, he uproots himself
and plants

a flower. Birth seeking rebirth.
Darling, I must confess. My hands tire, of all
this   planting

and   transplanting.

The poetry of Promise Omeiza Agoyi approaches themes of grief, existential questioning, and the complexities of human identity. Through a mix of vivid imagery and philosophical reflections, he explores the intersections of life, death, and transformation. His poem “Birdsong” was published in Kissing Dynamite Journal.