Uche Nduka



The Stance


On the path
to the morning
that stands over her.

The way he feels
wouldn't change
the stance
of this weather.

There's no way
you can separate
the pebbles
from the dew.


Slow Motion


To lean back
into those nervous lunches

Maybe I just love
being in the hot tub
with you

Since you've been away
I've been inking
the clouds

It's been a while
since the night
moved in slow motion

those sepia tones
lost on us


There Is Redemption


All the erroneous prologues
seek the final report
on the last debt
and still don't lose
the taste for hayrides
or flowering of cataclysms
figuring out where
the body begins
there is redemption
in ardor
brown groan of blue jeans
fragrance moving through itself

Uche Nduka is a Nigerian-American poet, essayist, and songwriter. He is the author of twelve volumes of poetry of which the most recent are Eel on Reef, Ijele, Nine East, and Facing You. A NYSCA/NYFA Fellow in Poetry, his forthcoming (2022) books are Fretwire (Griots Lounge) and Scissorwork (Roof Books). He presently lives and teaches in New York City.

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