Instead of grieving the news
July 14, 2025
Play Satie's first gymnopedie, badly.
Sit outdoors and pretend there's no wifi.
Sip seltzer, trying to notice
each bubble as it pops. Remember
there was no fizzy water in Cuba
because carbonation requires power.
This is a mistake: thinking about
the Special Period when people ate grass
is perilously close to thinking
about famine in Gaza and men with guns.
Besides, thoughts about Cuba lead to
thoughts about migrants, which land
my mind in "Alligator Alcatraz"
or facing la migra mounted on horses.
The feisty old woman on television
said "no matter what cages they build,
I'm free in here," tapping her heart.
She makes it look so easy.
The floodwaters of my mind carve
channels of worry, and I never know
when my river is going to overflow.
Repeat, "This is sadness, but I am not."
Widen the mind's mesh, and let
the grief float downstream,
somewhere out of sight.
The Special Period. See Wikipedia,
Famine in Gaza. See Entire Gaza population at critical risk of famine, BBC.
Men with guns. See 59 Palestinians in Gaza Killed by Israeli airstrikes or shot dead while seeking aid, PBS News.
Thoughts about migrants. See US undocumented field workers feel "hunted like animals," the Guardian.
Alligator Alcatraz. See Hundreds of detainees with no criminal charges sent to Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz', the Guardian.
La migra on horses. See Reality TV spectacle: outrage as federal agents raid LA neighborhood with horses and armored cars, the Guardian.
When my river is going to overflow. See Maps show where devastating flash floods hit Texas, inclding Camp Mystic, CBS.