Do not write about sadness

If you write about your sadness
It will become real
Edible
It will sit on your tongue
Like a mango
Full to the taste
Juicy
Appealing

So these days I write about the setting sun
How it colours the walls of my room pink and orange as it dips beyond the horizon
I write about the innocence in a newborn's eyes
The tenderness and softness of her skin and fingers
I write about the view in Edo State on the way back from Ibadan
The red soil
The vast green forest

I try to forget about my loneliness
About my lethargy
About the hole gaping inside of me
The desire for more
My dissatisfaction

The world is too beautiful
To wallow in bitterness
Too colourful
To close your eyes and be enveloped in darkness
Too delicious
For sadness to pose as mangoes

So I beg you
Do not write about sadness

You might drown