Behold/emboldened
by ITOHAN OSAIGBOVO
in Fall 2025
Tafari Melisizwe, “Night Light - Chicago, IL,” 2023
Behold
the decorate hope of
horticulture, of lot of kismet
every live thing planted
with craving, flocking
sheep of holy making, we
every bit alive as Beloved
we make dominion a snack
and eat of The Divine in likeness
everything hungers in chorus
only first fruit know, this war
we call nation, captures every good
almost
the third gecko eyeing me
behind the screen with
an appetite like men the body calls
more than mortal
oneness translates in
every mating season.
how come when I come outside y’all come right around me? hmm?
the earth is not alone
in the love of wanting
beauty and blending with everything
God knows.
God
emboldened
a comrade touches
my hand, finds self
in my skin
I imagine biting into
the blood orange
lush of freedom
our rebellion
greets my tongue in
shyest lover
it is the taste, no— the hue
that reveals the fear in my chest
my breath slows
my body recovers a lost melody
how the sight of it
remodulates the day, you
into a revolutionary future
hold our heads above the water
each time.
I have eyes for those
who walk forward towards
a once acquainted hue
a bloodline
like this pigment isn’t forbidden
contraband just shy of firetruck, blackened amber, emboldened
to make us
try something new
known
or never again.
