onions

Cover by Thando Ndima

onions remind me of nigeria

it reminds me of waking up at 6AM to make breakfast for my mother

the day starts with the sound of the generator running

and blue lights bouncing off my skin

blue lights remind me of a second home

akin to the markings of a family you have just come to know

in your 23 years of living you have not know family the way family was supposed to be

but you know now

i do not speak my mothers tongue

tonal conjunctions pronounced askew

they chuckled in response to my attempts

i peel back the onions

the produce in Nigeria is potent

i have never recollected onions making me cry until today

tears. stung eyes and disregarding the belief that i have tough skin

maybe it just depends on location

but the more layers you remove

the harder it is to peel

the skin starts to stick alongside its purple core

forgetting that it is just a layer

you could always peel all the layers at once

but you risk damaging its core

onions never used to make me cry

i guess only in nigeria.