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X.After a century, the first colony
of bluebirds flew out of my mouth.

IX.This morning, when I said my name
before the mirror, a sunflower broke

out of it. VIII. I have witnessed too many
crashing within this body, and I wonder

if I’ll one day develop immunity against
this violence. VII. The CT scan reveals

flowers sprouting from the base of my
ventricles. Perhaps this would account

for the nectar on my tongue. VI. In this
transterrestrial habitat, the wind runs

across my skin, brewing a kind of music
—forlorn, yet tender. V. The sun’s ray falls

on my cracked flesh & I transmute into
an hologram of grace. IV.Gravity becomes

fluid & the sky only rains crystalflake.
III. Buried within my chest are strands of

synthesized miracles. II. Most times what
molds us can also catalyze our decay. Even

the genesis of a scar can be a lovely kiss.
I. If I ever go missing, search for me among

the congregation of bluebirds; at the wake
of dusk when they retire into their nest.



Joshua Effiong, Frontier VI, is a writer and digital artist from the Örö people of Nigeria. Author of a poetry chapbook, Autopsy of Things Left Unnamed (2020). His works have been published or are forthcoming in 580 split, Wrongdoing Magazine, Vast Literary Press, Native Skin and elsewhere. He tweets @JoshEffiong.
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9 Dec 2024

The garage turned T-shirt shack hadn’t always been right on the bay, but erosion never stopped and the sea never slept.
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