Everytime I arrive here,
The leaves are in bloom, their wrinkled skins blown south, then east,
Until it lands bare.
I find it strange,
How my heart races with this place
Goosebumps crawl over me,
My mind falls with the brown rain of a tree
Ending itself.
I cannot find home.
Every arrival is a gong
Knocked hard.
Every fondness of time cropped short.
When a flash of laughter dances too far in my body,
It cannot be found.
This memory is a pinata,
I, the stick.
Two prisoners of the same war
Frolicking with grief.
I say I will not return,
But I will.
Star Zahra is a Nigerian poet and textile artist. She is the author of Girls and the Silhouette of Form, winner of the 2025 ANA/KMVL Prize for Poetry. Her work has appeared in Isele Magazine, Brittle Paper, The Lagos Review, and other publications.