Nigeria Poetry Magazine –

"Hold Me / Pages" by Tamilore Ayeni

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January 15th, 2026

Hold Me / Pages

by Tamilore Ayeni

Sometimes I wish someone
Could hold me,
When all I hear
Are the words
The devil told me –
You'll always be lonely.
Most of my friends don't
Even know me,
I only feel accepted
When I'm holding
A pen and a page.
As my hand moves
And the pen sways,
My heart begins to feel
At home,
These pages could never
Scold me.
They never judge my words,
I speak and they never stone me.

I wish someone chose me,
Chose to love and adore me,
Jumped with excitement
To get to know me,
But I guess that's a myth,
A fable told by the old me,
To give me hope that love
Never existed solely
Within a page –
But as I age
Life has shown me,
That the love I chase
Can only live
Within my pages.
Nevertheless,
As day changes to night,
Quiet and lonely,
I still desire another
To console me.


About the Poet
Tamilore Ayeni resides in Mende, Lagos, Nigeria.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications on Tamilore Ayeni's Artist Page.

This poem is featured in Comet #7, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: loneliness, writing as solace, longing, love, desire

Previously published in Nigeria Poetry Magazine:
We Were Once Boys
by Sandra Paul

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