how there was so much water. how things need water to survive. how to be human.

human bodies are made of water. how to find the line. how can there be too much of a

good thing.

 

               hyponatremia. the imbalance of water to salt in the body.

               how overwatering can be more hazardous than going without.

               how water enters the lungs and prevents the absorption of oxygen.

 

houses filled with water.

 

how struggle is replaced by cooperation. how to be human.

 

how there is a difference between refugee and evacuee. how one is marked as

          an other. how to be human.

 

/

 

 

how nature is layered on the manmade.

 

or how man interferes with nature and fails. something about lines and boundaries and

               naming. something about the ugly being beautiful.

 

how what’s dirty is actually crystal clear.

 

 

/

 

Born in Manapla, Philippines, Cheena Marie Lo is a genderqueer poet based in Oakland, CA. They co-curated the Manifest Reading Series, which featured mainly queer experimental artists and writers. They currently coordinate a youth art program at California College of the Arts, and co-edit the literary journal, HOLD. / Please click on the headline for a correct paragraph divisions. 

We say thank you for the two poems, Cheena Marie Lo! /

 

 

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Climate scientists, mourning Earth’s losses, should make their voices heard:

 

«We must shine the bright, investigative light of scientific inquiry into the dark, silent corners of our shared fields – and challenge ourselves, our colleagues, and our institutions to truly rise to the challenge of leading the planet in the 21st Century.»