In the poem “New Kru Town, Where I Come From” Edwin Olu Bestman, paints a picture of his town with such bold lines, embroidered with strong metaphors and other poetic devices. The vigor flows into the second poem, “Darkness: the surname of a poor lover” where he touches love, a universal emotion in an uncommon way. The poems are deliciously poetic.

-Editorial Team

New Kru Town, Where I Come From

this is a township/

where kids await the raindrops 

for shower/

their bodies paintings, of 

sorrows  

 

teenage girls are mothers/

drug abuse and gangsterism are 

street languages/

surrounding scattered like an 

abandoned dumpsite 

 

this is my home/

where violence is no 

stranger/

waking up to the sound of palava

like drum beats 

 

teenage boys are fathers/

where parents and children reunite

at nightclubs/

 

this is my home/

where the streets sleep naked/ 

rape is a celebrity

water floods our homes/

corruption is a beautiful first 

class citizen/

 

dreams are aborted babies 

the air isn’t safe/

we’re afraid of inhaling &

exhaling/

 

maybe we lost our love to 

our descendants

Darkness: the surname of a poor lover

I.

I met this pretty damsel/ she had a transparent lip with
no color/ castled my proposal in her bones 

II.

Every 60 second makes a minute/ but a clock never
ripped her eyes/ our love became a lonely cemetery

III.

I mourned the broken things/ exchanged dreams with
nightmares/ my body fell naked  

IV.

How I wished to possess her skin/ washed away
bloody tears/ but her eyes made romance to a rich’s pocket 

V. 

She was black/ photocopy of her complexion / her
desires rise like the tides of the ocean 

VI. 

My love lay wrapped in a cloth/ kisses like the
nights/ I lost my bride to a stranger 

About the Author

Edwin Olu Bestman alias “Magical Poet” is a young writer from Liberia. He is a multi-award-winning poet, philanthropist and a civil engineer. Edwin holds an associate degree in civil engineering from the Stella Maris Polytechnic University and currently a B.sc candidate at the institution. He has co-authored several anthologies and the author of two books; Genesis and Raindrops. 

He is a member of several national and international platforms. Some of which include: The International African Writers Association(IAWA), Poetry City(PC), We Write Liberia ( WWL), Liberian Poet Society(LPS), Motivational Strips (MS), World Literature Academy(WLA), Poetry Abilities(PA), Home Of African Poetry And Splendid Stories(HAPSS), Global Literary Society(GLS), PoeMarium, Inspire and get Inspired, Poetas Unidos(PU), Best Poet and Poetess Group( BPPG), Poetry Soup, Literary Greetings In The Soul(LGS), and many other literary institutions. 

Edwin’s works have been featured in international magazines, anthologies, and other written papers. Some of which include: The Writer’s Space African Magazine( Feb 1, 2019 edition), Motivational strips Anthology(Spark of hope, Volume I and II), Songs of peace – the world’s biggest anthology(League of poets), Namaste Ink (An author’s manifesto), (Poetry City Anthology( Circle of wisdom), Ducor review, Spillwords, Odd Magazine, Eboquills, Literary Yard, Libpedia, PoetrySoup, Poetry Nation, Writer’s Cafe, Sipay Magazine (Seychelles, June 21 edition), Bharath Vision, Ngiga Review, Nantygreens and a lot more.

Photo by Denniz Futalan from Pexels