We are so happy and the city
is collapsing. We see the end
is full of majestic metaphors
both realistic and fantastic at
the same time like the carbon
cloud of a bomb hanging low
over our heads, like the sugar
pink balloon afloat on a giant
tank full of soldiers, like you
putting your ear on the bulge
of my belly to hear the heart
beat of our future, ambiguous
like the venom yellow flyers
snowing on the ruins, written
in a language we don’t know.
We love madly while the city
is collapsing and we are so
happy, forgive us for this.
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Özge Lena
Painting The Bride of the Wind by Oskar Kokoschka
Biography: Özge Lena’s poems have appeared in The London Magazine, One Art, Orbis, 14 Magazine, Abridged, and elsewhere in various countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Spain, Iceland, Serbia, France, etc. Özge’s poetry was nominated both for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, and shortlisted for the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition and the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize in 2021, then for The Plough Poetry Prize in 2023, and for the Black Cat Poetry Press Nature Prize in 2024. Her poem “Here is a New Heart For You” was featured in the storefront of Barnes & Noble bookstore in Dublin, California for the National Poetry Month 2024.
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