there are things

that’s not supposed

to stay but have

refused to go…

my lover has trapped me

in a rabbit’s hole

singing creed of deliverance.

kyrie eleison…

on our bodies

that has become a secret vessel

concealing sin—

a sacramental of unwanted desires

Iliya Kambai Dennis is a writer and poet from Kaduna. He has been published in Salamander Ink Magazine, ARTMOSTERRIFIC, FERAL: A Journal of Poetry and Art, Serotonin, Konya Shamsrumi, African Writer, The African Writer Review, Afreecan Read, and more. He was Artist of the Month of April, 2021, at the Yasmin El Rufai Foundation, Kaduna. He is the author of the chapbooks Songs We Sing Before We Sleep (WRR Chapbook Series), and Verses (Inkspired). He is a lover of movies, books, and coffee.