Tukur Ridwan | The World Gets Lonely with Every Invention & Intention to Bring Us Together | Poetry

 

The World Gets Lonely with Every Invention & Intention to Bring Us Together 

 

Until lately, I never noticed how this village 

Is crashing down with voices gradually dissolving

Into a memory for the algorithm to keep.

The communal spirit diffuses into the scent 

Of solitude in decorated workspaces.

 

Until lately, I never realized the reason 

For my lethargy. Each person I meet on this road 

Seems to have lost the voice and the thrill.

I only hope this space I share with fellow 

Doomscrolling species do not combust

 

Into an inferno. When I drift away from my island, 

Into the cave of another caveman, I wonder

If I’m not intruding on a foreign land. I wonder

If I’m not a parasitic alien, then I return 

To my cubicle of keypads, poetry, and the algorithm.

Tukur Ridwan is a Nigerian author of three poetry chapbooks, a photographer, and a graduate of Political Science from UNILORIN. A recipient of the Brigitte Poirson Monthly Poetry Contest (March 2018), literary reviewer and poetry mentor at SprinNG Writing Fellowship, works appear in Afrihill, Afrocritik, Aké Review, The Argyle, Barzakh, Cordite, Engendered, Kalahari, Prosetrics, Rising Phoenix, Stripes, and elsewhere. Shortlisted in the Collins Elesiro Poetry Contest (2019), the Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize (2020), and the Bridgette James Poetry Competition (2025), and also featured in art exhibitions by Prince Saheed Adelakun (2024 & 2026). He loves black tea, sometimes coffee. X and IG @Oreal2kur