Named

people call me pelumi.
they say it soft
with pressure on the lu like luna like the moon

when my grandmother says it
it’s a gunshot
a gut punch.

my name is Oluwapelumi.

in english
it is too many letters.

in yoruba,
it means god is with me.

it means home.
it means hope.
it carries on its winged back
the dreams of my mother and father,
who flew across an ocean to realize them.

—By Pelumi Sholagbade