Hope is the membrane that gleans a heart from falling out of the soul

Hope is the membrane

that gleans a heart from

falling out of the soul

Opeyemi Oluwayomi

After Joy Harjor

I am holding a whole lot with faith. A quiet hold of substances hoped for. A clasp of absence on queue, longing to surface. In my soft palm, it is incredibly often enough that they lay carefully—everything that I placed, consciously like a crate of eggs, for my soul hurriedly wanders with many hands & many feet. Like our chaplain, I want to boldly stand on the earth to say, 'When life rains heavily, hope housed me. If it suns with the aim of burning the skin, hope, a little-shaped size in hand, is wide enough an umbrella for my extended family. Hope gives birth; Hope prepares the cloud of witnesses for their funeral. Hope is the membrane that gleans a heart from falling out of the soul.'

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Opeyemi Oluwayomi
Poet & Musician

Opeyemi has been published in Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, Shallow Tales Review, Brittle Paper, Journal of African Literature, Art Lounge Journal, SprinNG, Eboquil, Salamander Ink, and elsewhere. He was the second-runner-up winner of the Shuzia Poetry Competition, 2023 (Journey of the Soul). Social media handles: Joseph O. Oluwayomi.

Photography by Mariam Antadze