They came with the night,
In some folklore they would be the rainless souls,
A kind of rainbow almost ruined by grief.
Outside, the night is becoming a slow song,
The jazz is the biggest fear of the violinist,
How it moves the body before it moves itself,
And now the rainbow has come,
Save us breathless living from
The things that we cannot take away from ourselves,
We’re marooned because we’re candles
Almost scented by love,
We watch the rain let out a small cry
I do not say it but I wanted to know
Who said it was us whom they loved most
And why it makes me melt like an ice
On fire.
[A poem exhibited at The Optimist’s Incomplete Exhibition and also performed at the Heritage Day, as part of the Benue Book and Arts Festival at the DH Lawrence Birthplace Museum, Eastwood, Nottingham on 12 September 2026]
Chidera Echedom is a Nigerian writer, poet, and travel enthusiast who has visited over 40 countries. She draws inspiration from every new location and its peculiarities, from its people to its food and architecture. Although she has a strong phobia of animals in general, Chidera is passionately obsessed with butterflies and the intricate beauty of their wings. Her all-time favourite writers are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Flora Nwapa, and Chinua Achebe, whose books made her fall in love with literature as a child. In her free time, Chidera likes to swim and cycle. She is presently working on both a travel book and a poetry collection, with the latter forthcoming in 2026.
