REVERSE EVALUATION > POETRY
sorry, i didn’t call you back; i chose silence this time. my neighbour knocks at my
door, she asks if i have leftover meals for her dying son. how can i tell her i’m dying
of hunger too? the earth passed me by yesterday, it offered grief from its mouth, i shared
it with my friend. sometimes, grief is a trademark of hope. the tiny rats in my room have
betrayed me; they left me with my emptiness. i miss the music of their nightly squeaks.
sorry, i didn’t call you back; my father’s ghost keeps haunting me in my nightmares,
he wails heavily because i’m yet to become a man. my girl texted; she wants a breakup.
i replied okay. my sorrow is too heavy to ask why. every hello from mother feels
like a burden. i read the tears in her mouth anytime she asks when i am coming back home.
sorry, i didn’t call you back; i’m on the street again, scavenging for survival. i don’t
want to die with my name as a smoke, i want to die as an unforgettable line in every
poem. if the world doesn’t accept my offer, i’m scared i might live longer until
i become a star in the clouds. sorry, i didn’t call you back; my life is still on DND.
Qudus Olowo, popularly known as ‘Blacc’ is a Nigerian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter, editor, and entrepreneur. He is the Founding Editor of Afrihill Press and a former Editorial Intern at Another Chicago Magazine. His works have appeared in Ake Review, Lolwe, Kalahari Review, Temz Review, Sunlight Press, Blue Marble Review, Brittle Paper, Poetry Column NND, and elsewhere. He is the author of the micro-chapbook ‘Making Love by the Waterside’ (Afrihill Press, 2023). He was longlisted for the Brigitte Poirson Literature Prize 2024. He was a poetry mentor at the SprinNG Writing Fellowship from 2022 to 2024, a 2025 Rongo Art Residency Artist-in-Residence, and currently a member of The Ugly Collective. Qudus holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Ilorin, Kwara. You can reach him via X: @justblacc_ Instagram: @_justblacc_