Jesse Ojuka

My bedside table is running out of space for books 
like the French woman I met on summer solstice 
Who wore all white to match my all black 
And had to start piling her books on the floor 
The more rejections you face the more free
I think I have faced all the rejections 
From my mother
From my father
From my brother 
From my sister
From my friends 
From school
From myself 
There is no one else to pretend for