to an American,
fireworks are
aesthetic &
emblem of a
New Year.
to a Palestinian,
fireworks are
the reverberation
of bodies crumbling,
smoke tangling in the air,
the soil heavy with
yesterday’s dead.
the grass is
red on this side
but greener on
the other—
one a minefield,
the other a garden.
in one, children
plant dreams,
in the other,
they walk carefully,
knowing any step
could be the last bloom.
Oladosu Michael Emerald (he/him) is the author of the poetry book, "Every Little Thing That Moves," an art editor at Surging Tide Magazine, a first-reader at Radon Journal, a digital/musical/visual artist, an actor, a photographer, and an athlete. He teaches art at the Arnheim Art Gallery to kids and adults, is an Art Instructor at the Anasa Collection Art Gallery, and is a volunteer art instructor at Status Dignus Child Rescue Home and Ibeere Otun Initiative. He is a Pioneer Fellow of the Muktar Aliyu Art Residency, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria.
His works have been published or forthcoming in many magazines and won numerous awards in writing and art; a few to mention: winner of Off the Limit Art contest, winner of Sprinng Annual Poetry Contest, second runner-up in Fireflies poetry contest, finalist in AprilCentaur Essay contest, finalist in Arting Arena Poetry Chapbook contest, Providus bank anthology alongside Professor Wole Soyinka, finalist in Paradise Gate House Poetry Contest,Say hi to him on Twitter @garricologist and @garrycologist on Instagram.
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