Salimah Valiani SALIMAH VALIANI is a poet, activist, and researcher. She has published six collections of poetry. Her latest, 29 leads to love, has just been released by Inanna Publications. Her audiobook, Love Pandemic, is forthcoming from Daraja Press. Salimah’s poems and creative nonfiction have been published in online literary magazines in Africa including brittle paper, Praxis Magazine, Poetry Potion and Jalada. She lives in many places and crosses borders frequently.
LOVE PANDEMIC the heart has spilt all colours many shades
ON LOVE (XXXIII)
from the spilling words from the swilling countless acts
to inhabit the holes and transpose the whole in Santiago de Cuba there will be a museum of is to make love pandemic rum a tour guide that expounds a cane train various stations stages of sugar making the workers all slaves in Kerala strangers will exchange with you art Ambedkar transport delays why there are women breaking piles of stones at the side of roads philosophise ‘no matter what you are in India’ Dar es Salaam will embrace you pen artists and painters of the studio attached to the museum of Independence the past moving to sounds of the present the past historicised shoots tilting collective spirit brimming
ON LOVE (XXXIV) the shortest distance between us here a bouquet of succulents
poetry
here a slender perennial garden outside a yardbeside the footpath pink bloom against sun-tree echo on salmon wall 18 vibrant manicured square meters visible to all through metal thread township fence a type of public service a type of poem salving alongside the marring 40
