"Ondelis" by Milena Makani
Flourish Joshua | Ẹ kú Oríre
The eve lifts joy like a glass of wine
for a toast, spills it over my father
‘s compound. & like what ants do
to sugar, the streets gather.
Willingly, kongas offer their bodies
to the skilful arms of the community
drummers to be beaten to pulp.
Màmá’s favourite songs leak, stains
the rug with the blues of its lucent
sonata. Wrappers of older women sag,
tired cleavages peep the moments.
Buttocks quake by the peculiarities
of their divisions, by the rhythm
of the sẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀ that fashions them.
Waist-beads swish, amplifies the aubade.
Ayọ̀ tiwa ti kún, ire tiwa ti wọlé dé.
O, look what we have become. Ọ̀rẹ́,
kí wa kú orí‘re. Ẹ báwa jó. Ẹ báwa yọ̀.
Shift the curtains, undress the rooms.
Lift the water-pots, rattle Bàbá’s goatskin
bag—somewhere, joy has hidden
our shame. May we never find it.
for a toast, spills it over my father
‘s compound. & like what ants do
to sugar, the streets gather.
Willingly, kongas offer their bodies
to the skilful arms of the community
drummers to be beaten to pulp.
Màmá’s favourite songs leak, stains
the rug with the blues of its lucent
sonata. Wrappers of older women sag,
tired cleavages peep the moments.
Buttocks quake by the peculiarities
of their divisions, by the rhythm
of the sẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀ that fashions them.
Waist-beads swish, amplifies the aubade.
Ayọ̀ tiwa ti kún, ire tiwa ti wọlé dé.
O, look what we have become. Ọ̀rẹ́,
kí wa kú orí‘re. Ẹ báwa jó. Ẹ báwa yọ̀.
Shift the curtains, undress the rooms.
Lift the water-pots, rattle Bàbá’s goatskin
bag—somewhere, joy has hidden
our shame. May we never find it.
Flourish Joshua is a Nigerian poet, spoken word artist, and editor. Winner of the 2025 Gbemisola Adeoti Poetry Prize, 2021 Young Writers and Creatives’ Award, and the 2021 Salt Nation Poetry Prize. His work appears in Palette Poetry, The Shore Poetry, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, miniskirt magazine, Poetry Column-NND, and elsewhere. He is the Founding Editor of Olúmọ Review, a member of the Frontiers Collective and The Kratos Brothers; a collective of poets and singers respectively.
Milena Makani, born in 1984 in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a German contemporary artist based in London, UK. Makani’s deeply psychological paintings depict inner landscapes characterized by layered textures, fluid forms and gradients. Employing acrylics, watercolours and inks on mineral stone sheets, she blends control and spontaneity through the interplay of organic process and manipulation. Makani lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - a source of constant pain. Her works channel the mindfulness, gratitude and energy of her lived experience, as she investigates themes of resilience, serenity, joy, stoicism and fragility.
The German artist has exhibited her work in the UK, Bulgaria and Iceland and her paintings are featured internationally in various private collections.
The German artist has exhibited her work in the UK, Bulgaria and Iceland and her paintings are featured internationally in various private collections.
