Adedayo Agarau’s poem The Body as a Catalog Of Grief illustrates the natural thought process of grief. Through scattered thoughts, he can create a descriptive metaphor that hits close to home for many who are in the process of grief. Lines such as “My body is a drunk jug of tears, a quiet sanctuary for mourners” or “moths crackle fire as if their bodies are bells” bring strong images that insinuate the harsh toll that grief can physically have on you. The constant call back of butterflies and moths illustrated in this poem makes the metaphor extremely powerful as a reader. Agarau shows these scattered thoughts by choosing one event and writing them along with it and all that reminds them of this specific event. It felt like he was starting with one file in a cabinet but skimming over the other files giving us more and more drawing us into the poem. This displays culture within the grief process brings this personal aspect, making it hard to turn the page. Though this is a challenging topic to talk about, we hope to see pieces like this that show growth in our spring 2021 issue!
