after Nkateko Masinga
I am rebirthing today
(flour, grief, ghost-hand stirring)
edge-crisp
centre-soft
stories folded into batter
like my mother folded into me
nothing store-bought
holds this memory:
heats me zestful
by tasting.
nothing store-bought
ever tasted
this alive.
Here,
begin by combining
sans muscle memory
sans placenta
sans shea butter prayer
sans smoked fish tongues
clots the sizes of people
in a large bowl.
Whisk to combine,
ferrying through this small-sized opening
singing:
we sunflowers
we blooming at night.
In another bowl, whisk together
this body— Lorem Ipsum
dipped in alcoholic baptism
survival leaning on a question
of doubts
sans miracles
sans heritage
sans
Pour the wet ingredients:
“mina míatsɔ ŋkɔ nɛ be edinam
ɛfiri sɛ ɔbɛyi yɛn afiri amanehunu mu
ejaakɛ ebaatsɛ Nyɔŋmɔ gbɛi lɛ”
and the dry ingredients:
what does it mean
to return home
when your body
is not welcomed
by the land
or
its people?
This flesh—both
savoury & sweet
amalgamating into an unending
poem
that is only becoming:
blood, vinaigrette, honey & spice
on the tip of my tongue.
Don’t worry if you see a few lumps;
that’s exactly how it should be.
These palms are the edge
between land and saltwater.
Carry no more,
dead weight.
Heat a griddle:
eye wòna ablɔɖe eɖokui
na wabɛyɛ hann
ni ewoɔ enyɛmi yoo woloŋmalɔi lɛ
Scoop about ¼ cup of:
Queer—no curse,
Woman—no silence,
Softness—no weakness,
Family—no blood.
Be famished not,
Leaning
betweenpinkgum
&teeth
atinyspace
wheresurvival
isthepoint.
sans stories
sans passed down trauma
sans seeds of quiet violence
unspooling this tongue in yours
cook all your wounds until
queer joy turns golden brown, unhidden and
and poems that hold your dead, your beginning
start bubbling with little holes.
that’s your sign
remembrance of where you are from
space for where you are going.
GLOSSARY
mina míatsɔ ŋkɔ nɛ be edinam (Ewe): let us name her Edinam
ɛfiri sɛ ɔbɛyi yɛn afiri amanehunu mu (Twi): for she will deliver us from evil
ni ebaatsɛ Nyɔŋmɔ gbɛi lɛ (Ga): for she shall call upon the name of God
Denoo Edinam Yawo is a Ghanaian poet and writer whose work delves into themes of the body, the politics of language, spirituality, and faith at the intersection of living. She is a 2025 Black Atlantic Residency Fellow, the 2024 Second Runner-Up and the 2025 First Runner-Up of the Adinkra Poetry Prize. She is also a recipient of the 2025 DUAPA Mentorship Program. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming in The Kalahari Review, Akpata Magazine, Akowdee Magazine and others.
IG: @the_denoo_edinam
X: @poetic_siren