October 24, 2025

by LUCAS LUNGU

Ceremony of Bodies

for sipho

On Sunday, I woke up to the smell of dead men burning.

A father is performing a ritual for his son.

He paints him black, day one.

Day two, he paints him black again,

to cure his albinism.

I swear, an albino somewhere is hiding from rituals.

He speaks in his sleep about hellfire.

A man inside him is also hiding; he looks for God everywhere he touches.

He will wake again, but this time without hair.

He will groan in endless Swahili,

as his father pulls Bethel out of him.

I tell you, there's no safety here; men will write fire on your skin.

Day three. Into the open,

his father draws a furnace on his wrists to burn,

while his shadow disappears into resinous smoke.

I swear, I don't know much about God,

but a pastor says, “we must burn for him”

this way.