one sentence I award
status of being contested
of radiating aura of having dread
owning bias, stirring emotions
creating fear across the world
a sentence
calling for care
not as black on white,
but really unblurring the reverse
pumping into communities and individuals
one’s sentence
unveiling systemic stench
of a continuum to be castrated
simultaneously: pandemic spasms
of a callousness to be decapitated
a one sentence heard
and misunderstood maliciously
intentionally blinded by testosterone
referring to a lung and longing for well-being
that sentence snapping healthcare to the brink
snapping sanity off its orbit if ever held
unmasking distances of human making
taken from yearning past,
continuing to resonate for years to come
That sentence counting down with murmurs
as if announcing last gurgles of life on Earth
undesired rocketing one into space
going the distance
there where is no social air:
“I can’t breathe”
—animasuri’21