Logan Town

Favor Cooper

i was there — in the dirt,

in the dark,

the unfinished house of despair,

in the places i thought i feared

too little to carry myself,

i saw decisions,

blood,

and death

ly zoko neh wor plenty dan there,

but nothing scares me more

than where he lives

welcome to logan town —

where your nightmare begins,

said something beside me

the scent of bread and mud

from the market women neh called to me,

but it was not as strong

as the stain that follows me

houses and buildings

pressed close together

like everyone there was family

children skinny and grown

as though famine had taught them

to survive before understanding.

men roam with knives.

arguing

bruises, and eyes redder 

than scarlet.

i heard broken voices,

deadly choruses,

and a confession

that should have been spoken earlier.

i heard a friendly warning:

this is the home where death bleeds.

i would die

if i had to relive that moment.

logan town remembers me.

everything scares me.

but when i let myself think,

it whispers:

welcome, welcome

Bio: Favor Cooper is an emerging Liberian writer and poet working with storytelling, poetry, and performance. Her writing traces emotion, identity, and lived experience through language.