How can you forego events of the good old days, dear. The glimpse of each other, spirited chatting, are unforgettable.

Come once more, my friend, come into my heart.
We’ll talk about the joy and sorrows to soothe heart.
We’ve collected flowers at dawn, played and swung a lot – Sang and fluted under the BAKUL tree.

Then happened the separation, alas, we got diverged – When we’ve got a chance to unite once more, come into my heart.

— PROMI FERDOUSI

an extract, read the full version in the Anthology

Deception causes us to see colours in the colourless
and darkness in light.
We can learn to see black dots as a blessing
the next time we are playing with dice
If we are black dots,
then we define the glimmering shield on the ladybird.
We are the fists held high as the survivors of bloodshed.
The locus points for a complete circle to be drawn.

— ANNIE ROCKSON

an extract, read the full version in the Anthology

Made love to herself by the rivers
Of sensual delusion
Recalling past lives as they rush
Towards Heaven on the scarlet waters
Of her own mythology.
She dances an obsidian trail
Upwards from the depths of hell.
Loving, Suffering, Being Born Again and Again-

— MONIQUE ETIENNE

an extract, read the full version in the Anthology

Like the rumbling before thunder,
the peak before orgasm,
the bone before it breaks.
The fear. The pleasure. The pain.
My voice shakes because I’m afraid of the possibilities.
I’m afraid if I speak too loud,
you might just hear what I’m saying.

— AMENAH WASEME

an extract, read the full version in the Anthology

I step into this fertile land, aware of its inhabitants.
There’s a siren for the onions.
I run to grab five. She says it’s not enough.
I run to grab two more making sure they’re not rotten.
That would be like treason, she says.
Sufficient.
I step to the side.
Back in my place. I watch her methodically take no loaf by heart measurements of dried spices and herbs.

— ANEESHA HUSSAIN

Songs and singers from long ago
And songs and singers to come
Greet you
The more you sing
Yourself into being
Sing your visions into form

Extract from Voices that Shake! soundscape by Teju Adeleye

an extract, read the full version in the Anthology

Ten minutes in, we’re family
Cousins, brothers, sisters, mothers
Holding, caring, feeling, sharing
It’s become everything.
Our mere existence, a dangerous threat
Building systems to sustain, to shield
Seeking truth, as the pain ruptures our comfort
Uncovering, discovering how real loving resistance be rollin’
We’d been deceived,
Led to believe that we need white-washed charity
Fetishising poverty and working class minorities.

— AMINA GICHINGA

The call and response of your songs
echoing in the air all this time later
Barefoot dancing on grounds tilled in care
To answer one call is to dance
in affirmation towards dignity

extract from Voices that Shake! soundscape by Teju Adeleye

Songs and singers from long ago
And songs and singers to come
Greet you
The more you sing
Yourself into being
Sing your visions into form

extract from Voices that Shake! soundscape by Teju Adeleye

Time is forever flowing,
as we sail downstream at a fast pace,
riding the current,
never stagnant in one place.
Never forget to go back to the source.
Never forget the ones who broke down dams,
allowed our fams,
to set sail on a new course.
In this sea of time in forward motion,
We must learn from the mouth
of our cultures’ oceans.

— ROTIMI SKYERS