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MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE
DELETE    m3 
BILLBOARD
Newark, New Jersey
​                                                 
By Tamara J. Madison  
​

Instead of God’s latest telegram or directions to the nearest gas and eats,
the billboard brazenly displays:
 
a face, a portrait\
the eyes, two moons
 
a face, pixilated portrait
the eyes, two hollow moons, no stars
 
a face, pixilated portrait, a corpse in billboard casket
the eyes, two hollow, mute moons, no stars, no heaven to shroud them.
 
The billboard speaks above the city’s streets,
“Unidentified victim. Please call 1-800… if you know him.”
 
Any block, borough, mama out there, missing a face, this face, his
face?  Any sun anywhere missing those two hollow, mute moons?
 
The pixilated portrait: his face, two moons, no stars, no heaven,
the billboard casket– a sinned city’s saving grace interred.

 
​
 



​


  • HOME ISSUE #3
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY AND PROSE
  • BLACK MUSIC PHOTO ESSAY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • VISUAL ART GALLERY
  • BIOGRAPHIES
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • Support Merge Literary Magazine
  • ISSUE #2 CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • FEATURED WRITERS AND ARTISTS
  • MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • Multimedia Art Review
  • PHOTOGRAPHY CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
  • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • ISSUE #1 POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
    • Mission and Content
    • About US
    • POETRY
    • PROSE
    • ART ILLUSTRATION
    • ESSAYS AND PLAY
    • MULTI-MEDIA QUILT REVIEW
    • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
    • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
    • Support Merge Literary Magazine