Wale Ayinla

Biography

Wale Ayinla is a Nigerian poet and essayist. He is the author of To Cast a Dream (O, Miami, 2021). A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, his poems have appeared in Poet Lore, RHINO, Cherry Tree, TriQuarterly, Ruminate, Guernica, and elsewhere.

See Work

POETRY / Summer 2026

Roleplay

By Wale Ayinla

In a dialogue for freedom, a slave once
begged his owners, knees bruised by the rocks
he crawled upon. I kneel before my lover
shackled by desires. I become her slave

POETRY / Summer 2026

After Winter

By Wale Ayinla

Bathed in sun & its fluorescent bloom, I walk
            into the narrow track along Old Taylor Road.

POETRY / Summer 2026

Migration Abecedarian

By Wale Ayinla

A mother’s prayer scents the road and charts the course.
Before the journey, impatience grows between my bones. We gather,

POETRY / Summer 2026

Grief of Silence

By Wale Ayinla

Grief of the sea,
cold lights drifting
over marble plains.