October 24, 2024

by CAESAR ELDRIDGE LUNGU

A PLAYLIST FOR A THIRSTY MAN

SIDE A

1. There’s a lonely sun 

hovering over a dry well

2. His mouth is now a desert; 

words no longer sprout on his tongue 

3. A boat is stranded at a dying sea, 

his son is an impending gale

4. His father is a bullet in desperate 

Need to escape a rusty gun.

SIDE B

1. There’s an urge to paint leaves 

On branches where birds once sang.

2. Does time also leave the body

Of a dead clock?

3. He drags his bones on which

His loyal shadow hangs

4. Praying to Moses to teach him 

How to wring water out of a rock.