Amplifying Voices from Underrepresented & Marginalized Communities
Yesterday, I Saw a Thousand and One Flags
By Oumar Farouk Sesay
Yesterday,
I saw a thousand and one flags
fluttering in broken hues and battered shades—
some torn, some frayed,
some bleeding into each other,
a canvas of sorrow stitched with stubborn hope.
From that bleeding tapestry
rose a people's dream:
to wrest back laughter
stolen by cunning hands.
Yesterday,
I heard a thousand and one anthems,
sung in a thousand and one tongues
the voices of young and old,
threaded with grief, thick with resolve,
shoring up weary soles
marching to reclaim a land
gnawed to the bone by vultures.
Yesterday,
I heard a thousand and one trumpets wail,
a thousand and one drums pound,
casting discord into the wind
yet from the clamour,
one fierce cry soared:
We want our country back.
Yesterday,
I saw hope stitched in sound, sight, and spirit,
wrapped in the triple stripes—
green, white, and blue
fluttering like a reborn soul against the bruised sky.
Yesterday,
a thousand and one battle lines were drawn,
a thousand and one armours donned,
ready to reclaim a nation's destiny
by all means necessary.
Yesterday,
a thousand and one despairs
were shredded into ribbons
by a thousand and one hopes,
rising to exalt this land
for the children yet to dream it anew.
And yesterday,
I heard a thousand and one negations
spoken as fierce affirmations
to end the ritual Matorma dance
of one foot forward
and a thousand steps back.
Oumar Farouk Sesay was resident playwright of Bai Bureh Theatre in the ’80s. Several of his plays were performed in the then City hall and he won accolades among his peers. He veered into journalism and wrote for several local and international newspapers. He has been published in many anthologies of Sierra Leonean poets; Lice in the Lion’s Mane, Songs That Pour the Heart, Kalashnikov in the Sun and AFRIKA IM GEDICHT. He has also written short stories; The Price, published by Sierra Leone writers Series and CLOSURE published by Sierra Arts publishers. His first volume of poems, Salute to the Remains of a Peasant was published in 2007 in America, followed by three more collections of poems; The Edge of a Cry , Broken Metaphor and Before the Twisted Rib. Farouk’s Novel Landscape of Memories was first published in 2015 and republished in 2018 by Sierra Leone Writer’s Series.
From the Manuscript of Soil Unfurling from Stem
This Month's Featured Poet
Oumar Farouk Sesay
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Penned in Rage magazine is focused on publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, flash fiction, experimental prose and hybrid works, written by underrepresented writers.​ Each quarter a submission is chosen as the featured piece. The journal aims to create a community of subscribed readers who enjoy contemporary creative writing styles. Penned in Rage invites submissions from underrepresented and marginalised writers.
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​​​About Penned in Rage Journal
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Penned in Rage magazine is focused on publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, flash fiction, experimental prose and hybrid works, written by underrepresented writers.​ Each quarter a submission is chosen as the featured piece. The journal aims to create a community of subscribed readers who enjoy contemporary creative writing styles. Penned in Rage invites submissions from underrepresented and marginalised writers.
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This Journal Only Features Writers from Sub-Saharan Africa; its Diaspora & Ethnic Minorities.
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