by Tony Schanuel
the antonym of a country’s name
[Liberia, from the Latin word liber means free]
the fear of war is the beginning of silence,
& the color of silence
is the flag of my country
stained with blood in unmarked graves.
this country wants nothing but
the last strings of cries
that sit in our pharynxes,
a nice poem
about its causalities growth
that grow in the wet throats of guns.
after all, this country had drew out our bodies from wells
we once stood over,
turned our bones into dried out tunnels.
my mother said
one day when we are all dead,
we will form a new country in unmarked graves.
Jeremy T. Karn writes from somewhere in Liberia. His work had appeared in 20.35: Contemporary African Poets Volume III anthology, The Whale Road, Ice Floe Press, ARTmosterrific, The Rising Phoenix, Praxis Online Magazine, Shallow Tales Review, Kissing Dynamite, Madness Muse Press and elsewhere. His chapbook, Miryam Magdalit, has been selected by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani (The African Poetry Book Fund), in collaboration with Akashic Books, for the 2021 New-Generation African Poets chapbook box set.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, and painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection.