Clementine Ewokolo Burnley
The buildings were constructed in the 1960s
around a pine forest containing a concreted-over
nuclear reactor that had shut down. I felt special.
The pre-alpine hills were rounded and reminded
me of the sloping curve of Bwéa. The coffee was real
and always the same price everywhere if you stood
at the bar. The pointer-setter mix dug holes
under the fence and killed twelve American bantam
hens with black-and-white feather socks on their feet.
My daughter and her dad followed the only other brown
toddler home from the playground. I learned
Italian, shopped locally, dressed the children in starched
navy-blue cotton on Sundays, did the passégiatta
along the lakefront, and made pasta from flour tipo “00.”
Clementine Ewokolo Burnley was born in Cameroon and lives between Berlin and Edinburgh. Her work has been published in Ink, Sweat & Tears, Magma, and The Poetry Review. Her first full-length poetry collection is due to be published by Bloodaxe in 2026.
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