pollution dodged?

	relocated, lodged
in moist fleshy folds
	sweating a bullet
up & down thyroid glands
	through veins of discontent
discombobulated frenemy
	dispersed histories bioaccumulate
returning in media res icymi
	bloodstream’s poisoned gift
giving & giving & giving
	long after the plastic wrap’s
chucked in the landfill
	trapped in economies
of scale, built on porous shale
	see & do? unseen & undone
tweeting up a storm with intersex bass
	riding the toxic rollercoaster
techno treadmill trouncing
	underneath skin acting up
while eyes stay on the screen
	that gets smaller & smaller
faster & faster
	for the converted
& those held hostage
	as filter bubbles pop
as the mines dug up outside
	land inside body capsule
hormonal hurts releasing
	tricks of the global trade
my endocrine disruption
	for your muted phone
your cancer
	for my keyboard
a slow release traffic jam
	embedded each thin-skinned body
beside the jewelled transmission tower
	a grenade

bisphenol ache bursts a cell wall leaks plasma limpid, laden with toxic gifts courtesy of duped ontology corporate cancer embedded in diets, morsel by muscle, blight by bite, gradually accumulated illnesses blossom in our bellies, breasts, bladders, intestines testify to trace amounts hoarded in blood & bitumen, brimming with slow malignant release, remind us that biology is determined by chemistry cartels infiltrating our shampoos & synthetic textiles, room deodorizers & tin can linings receipt paper coatings & hand sanitizers sing a slow song of poison by a thousand exposures

calm in chronic pollution, kindred water is a secret player reflecting industrial flaws back to us. naming the chemical creep is the first step in returning to our responsibilities, finding that duty itself is a ragged, fierce beauty, not just listing the toxins but disrupting their supply chain as we turn our gaze to how they seep intimately, expertly, into the creases we didn’t know we had, into our cracked lips & sweating armpits, moistening our dry eyes and callused heels. there is no substitute for earth’s authority, the living law of each inhale, each exhale, the quiet dignity of shared breath, necessary balance.

We are undercurrent, overburden, the rolling earth, the spin that won’t be doctored, the healers who want to live well on this revolving planet. Our needs are few and our desires many. We need clean water. We need clean air. We need to eat plants powered by sunlight and earth. We need kinship that builds peaceful relations. We need to respect our differences without letting them kill, destroy, displace, incarcerate and oppress us. We need the small picture and the big picture. We need to share. We want to share. We see that obscene wealth for a few is not merely a sign of merit or talent or ability, but also a spiritual sickness, a bloated ego, a reduced capacity to respond to the suffering of one’s kin. We want everyone to understand that the tumours in the moose and whitefish and our neighbours are a sign of our failures, not our successes. We are tired of glorifications of war and the reenactments of its impoverished logic in our bureaucracies. We want to restore balance, right relations, ethical being. We cannot afford delusional hierarchies. We will not race each other to the bottom. We commit to live up to the future’s call. We want our lives to not be wasted.