March 2021

Portrait Of My Country As Chaos And Blood

By Anointing Obuh

                  There is so much the streets/ are really shaped like chapels
                                              blood on Large bullets
                 Many things I did not know until today
                   Like how many lives we will lose before this country annihilates us
                Hands fasten themselves on asphalt as bullets whizz past
            Oh God, my people have learned to hide themselves.
           How can I dis – own a country without losing my head & my heart?
         Take me away he begged. This man is wounded!
             Blood gushing out of torn flesh
[I] Was that a bomb blast or fire, the national anthem?

[Feel] We are all growing violence, perhaps that is why they shoot at us

[Like] What is his name? Write it down

[Puking] He is going to die. Do CPR!

My sister weeps quietly beside me. Tonight, a million Nigerians will cower in bed, tens

of millions will become lava. He is breathing! He needs air!

Mark my words. We will all die together you know. We were born for it
We should stop calling this nation [absent of motherly feelings] her. An iron fist
is an iron fist, wrapped or not. They really bring hell fire & call it children toys
  Everything is baseless now. See how they reduce us to mere flesh & empty
  cartridges. What is it with soldiers stealing corpses? If I am burned,
                               We will sing our way into death. Let me burn to the
                                                                                       Let heaven know our land
                                 was too green with envy. last
                               A man passes away from the flicker
                             struggle. Hallelujah. What am I to tell
                             my children unborn? That I hoped in
                              a country which pilfered like smoke
                                before my eyes or that I once
                                                 had a life?
Formatting: The Nigerian Map.

Anointing Obuh is a writer, singer and photographer from Nigeria. A one-time best of the Net nominee, her works have been featured in Rattle, Mineral Lit mag, Honey and Lime Lit, Barren magazine and elsewhere. You can find her tweeting @therealAnniekay.

GIVE & TAKE or how God takes his revenge

By Roseline Mgbodichinma Anya-Okorie

Heaven is divinity’s finest theatrics
But
My creation is no play,

Though my mother
Formed me behind closed curtains
& my birth was like staging a scene for holocaust,
I am no drama.

What name do you give to children
Who caused their mothers to push into Eternity?

What is my identity if
I switched costumes with my mother in this plot twist called life?

She was cast as an extra for a judgement scene in her hospital robe

Nine months was the Audition for her role in this death series.

The scorching Sun is a portrait of
My mother’s wailing face,
The moon is her soul lighting up
My darkness.

& Every day I manage to squeeze out a prayer,
I ask God if salvation
Means taking a mother
Simply because He gave his son.

Roseline Mgbodichinma is a Nigerian writer whose works have appeared or are forthcoming in The African writer Magazine, The Hellebore, Serotonin Poetry, West Trestle Review, JFA human rights mag, Serotonin poetry, Indianapolis Review, Kalahari review, & elsewhere. She won the Audience Favorite award for the Union Bank Campus writing challenge – Okada books, she is the third prize winner for the PIN food poetry contest and a finalist for the Shuzia Creative writing contest. You can reach her on her blog @ www.mgbodichi.com and Twitter @Rmgbodichinma.

The Placid Lake

By Betsy Jenifer

Art is both a therapeutic tool and an opportunity to explore one’s creativity. Through art, I have been able to highlight simple and seemingly ordinary aspects of life as creatively as I can. I have used art to not only sublimate strong emotions into visual expression like paintings, but also to play with ideas, however random or odd, and to exercise my creativity through them. Photography, in particular, has been a medium that helps me capture delicate and easily overlooked moments in nature and life.

Betsy Jenifer is a twenty-year-old artist from Vellore, South India. She has previously been published in After the Pause, Alexandria Quarterly and Door is A Jar, among other places.

Reflection of Self

By Jacqueline Wu

In times of crisis and strife, we need to take time to reflect on our inner selves to muster the courage and strength to hang on. We can then learn to develop a stronger mental mindset for the present and future so that we can support each other. I created this piece because I wanted to reveal my inner reflection and self and show that it’s ok to not be okay. More than ever before, we need to be able to express our innermost thoughts and emotions to create a happier, more connected world with less judgment and more love and empathy.

In my work, I focus on many themes concerning the complex facets of the human condition, in the hope that I can accurately convey different perspectives and shed light on important topics. To me, art is the mirror which should reflect society, one that emphasizes what is important at that moment in time. My pieces explore the interplay of the concepts of life and death/mortality in our lives, lessons learned in my ongoing journey, and experiences through adolescence and youth.

I have gone through phases of anxiety, confusion, and happiness, and I know many others who have had the same experiences growing up, making these shared pains ultimately relatable to many. Through resilience, this has created a multilayered person and persona, influencing my definition of a meaningful and successful life in our modern, judgemental society. All the pain, growth, and resilience have come together to become part of my unique identity as I continue the long search for my truth and voice, to become the best version of myself. My sincere hope is to empower others like me to take the time to carve their path and embrace their unique identities; everyone has a voice and message to share.

Jacqueline Wu is an artist from Long Island, New York. She has also won art competitions and awards, such as the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and Celebrating Art. She is forthcoming in Remington Review, Teen Belle Magazine, and Celebrating Art. Jacqueline enjoys painting, drawing, writing, and playing the viola, and she hopes to continue to inspire and empower through the arts.

Mystical Creature, Favored Sister

By Tou Lao Moua

I was always fascinated by fantasy and fairytales as a child. I loved myths and legends and oddly shaped creatures. On this pointillism project, I decided to create a seal-ish loch ness monster because it was one of my favorite mythical creatures growing up. I also went with the colors of the galaxy to represent the beauty of this creature, even though we cannot see it with our naked eyes. The ocean is barely explored and who knows if these creatures could be lurking under the abyss beneath us.

As we grow, our parents expect the best of us children and sometimes would unintentionally compare us to our siblings. This leads many of us to develop jealousy and depression and makes one wonder why they aren’t enough. Due to this, we may be so blinded by the success of others that we may forget our own dreams and the purpose that brought us here. Once a dream is crushed, it is likely to be destroyed for eternity. The feeling of being meaningless is something we have to be cautious about and help others regain their hopes.

Tou Lao Moua, is seventeen years old and a senior at Johnson Senior High School in St. Paul, MN. He grew up with a passion for art and plans to attend Minneapolis College of Art and Design and major in animation.

Shh

By Elizabeth Train-Brown

she put her finger to my lips
said
this –
this dip here
this is from when they tell you to keep quiet
the split second before you fall to earth
flop out of a scarlet canal
scream yourself into the world
this is where that being
that Being
kisses
presses their finger
says
‘forget me’

Elizabeth Train-Brown, a circus performer and award-winning journalist, studies Creative Writing at Lancaster University. She is the Marketing Director for MPN Magazine and Poetry & Fiction Editor for Flash Literary Journal. She won the 2020 Literary Lancashire Award and has been shortlisted in competitions by Creative Writing Ink, Voices, and Beyond Borders Scotland. Her work has appeared in Planet in Peril (Fly on the Wall Press, 2019), The Future of Text (Future Text Publishing, 2020), Allegro, Tastzine, Qutub Minar Review, Cake Journal, SKYE Magazine, SCAN, Horla Horror, Wax Poetry & Art, and Crossways. www.bethtrainbrown.journoportfolio.com