SQN - Sine Qua Non - Issue 1 - Journal - Page 69
SINE QUA NON
FIRST PLACE WINNER — POETRY
Oladosu Michael Emerald
Manual for a Body in Transit
1. In case of emergency, break open the ribcage.
a) Inside, you’ll find a small box labeled home.
b) Do not open it;
c) Home is fragile—like bones, like breath.
d) You carry it with you, always.
2. Define Love:
a) The first language you spoke before forgetting.
b) A map written in disappearing ink.
c) The hunger that moves from one body to the next.
d) All of the above are in different forms.
3. To understand Grief, consult the following:
a) Your father’s hands, trembling over the stove.
b) The sound of the sea you can’t return to.
c) A photograph you keep erasing from your mind.
d) The shadow that refuses to leave your side.
4. Fill in the blank: A body in exile is a ________.
a) River with no source.
b) Poem written on the wrong page.
c) Song sung in a language no one remembers.
d) An empty chair at the table.
5. Show your work:
When the sky turns dark, fold your memories like origami.
a) Build a bird that flies backward into yesterday.
b) Construct a boat that never touches water.
c) Hold the paper tight until it cuts your palms—
d) This is the shape of survival.
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