"Fission" by Leonard Kogan
Guernica, as painted in Afghanistan
for the doctors who were without borders
Between good and evil, a porous veil firmly stood hanging, as a curtain that was a wall
From one side
civilians soaked in blood stroked the veil with paintbrushes soaked in blood
< the civilians stroked the veil as bloody paintbrushes >
From the other side, some commander scrubbed it with soap
<“On behalf of the US Army, I apologize for the blood we shed on behalf of the US Army”>
The veil started to ooze with pink foam like a soggy explosion
<like loudness drowned in saliva and blood
like out-of-touch communication
Out-Of-Touch Communication
Touch:
-if skinned, is a felt
-if skinned, is felt
under the skin
Touch
in love, its blushing skin
in brutality, its silenced felt, its pelt peeled from its peal >
For having put their deepest fillings onto their art, the civilians
became as much of a carcass
as any canvas is
< What poor artists the poured artists are >
As for those who survived, the mind is a Louvre of haunting images which is high on synesthetics
ANDRÉ BRAGA CABRAL is a Brazilian poet from Minas Gerais who currently pursues a degree in Journalism. His works have appeared in DIAGRAM, Mobius: A journal of social change, decomP, Word Riot, Radioactive Moat and a few other places.
E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @HashBrownIV
E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @HashBrownIV
LEONARD KOGAN is an artist who lives and works in Baltimore, MD. Exhibitions of Leonard’s works include “Wall flowers” in Herzliya Museum, “The After Light” at the Andy Warhol Factory in New York, “SUR/FACE/S” at the Nexus Project Gallery in New York, a show at the museum of Yanko-Dada in Israel, “Project Diversity” at the Sputnik Gallery in Brooklyn and others. Leonard’s art has been featured in a number of literary and art magazines, often contributing to the covers. A publication in the Little Patuxent Review issue of “Doubt” features Leonard’s recent works and an interview with the artist.
