‘living next to the woman on the mat'

Photo: Bethany Laird

—a poem for liberia

i know my country is a goddess.

we sing her national anthem like our lives depend on it.

this is something we hold as belief under the bed of our tongues.

but this glorious goddess doesn't fashion the future of her people the

way she clothes herself with strength & dignity.

when i listen to news of injustice on grandmother's tv,

i have this feeling that my country is like a broken record.  

i am tired of pledging my allegiance to this goddess.

her bloodthirsty lips that ruined odell's life,

& many other bodies that once lay in our newspapers.

i know my country is a goddess,

but when i write a future poem,

it will be about how life in liberia is like living in a hospital.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edwin Olu Bestman alias "Magical Poet" is a young writer of eminent pedigree that writes from Monrovia, Liberia. He is a multi-award-winning poet, a philanthropist, and a civil engineer. He has co-authored several anthologies and the author of two books, Genesis and Raindrops. His works have been featured in The Writer's Space African Magazine (Feb 1, 2019 edition), Namaste Ink Magazine, Ducor review, Spillwords, Odd Magazine, Eboquills, Literary Yard, Libpedia, PoetrySoup, Poetry Nation, WewriteLiberia, Ngiga Review, Nantygreens, Sipay Magazine, Orange Book Club, Rising Phoenix Review, AfroRep Journal, Madness Muse Press, and elsewhere.