Gboyega Odubanjo
Lynx Africa
two quid forty-nine from your local retailer
for that exotic pop-bellied
ethiopian kid aesthetic.
buy one get a swift frisk with it
quick ticket to the back of the line
plus a side dish of chicken wings
wash it down with a stiff drink
no tonic with this coloured shit.
play it cool for a minute.
til it’s too hot in the tanning booth
but you can’t wash off
what you don’t mimic
and the chains won’t rust
no matter how hard
you bless the rains down in africa.
the thick lipped face in the mirror’s
unfamiliar;
you want it, now you’ve got it,
sign the receipt with your slave name,
nigger.
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Gboyega Odubanjo is a British Nigerian poet born and raised in East London. He is currently studying for an MA in Poetry at the University of East Anglia.
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