I Just Want to Know Their Names
bodies Bodies bodies So many bodies rotting bodies Hundreds of bodies dumped in drainage canals in plastic bags buried in fields patios yards of homes dissolved in acid or lye 19 corpses hung from ropes hacked to pieces authorities ran out of space neighbors complained about the smell killings skyrocketed cartel lost control battling that splinter group violence fractured key decision-making Hope
Note: This poem uses text from “In Mexico, a cartel is taking over: Jalisco New Generation” by Mark Stevenson, AP, March 18, 2020.
Meanwhile in China
draconian assault[s] 1. wildlife species such as bamboo rats may have been hosts for the coronavirus __ a breeder of bamboo rats a delicacy when grilled has not earned a penny since January __ In June he dug a deep pit and buried [hundreds] alive “I invested all I had into this business” 2. The Chinese government plunged more than 330,000 IUDs in Uighur residents all women of childbearing age __ Side effects can include headaches dizziness nonstop menstrual bleeding irremovable without special instruments __ still leaking breast milk strap[ped] her to an iron chair electric vacuum sucked her fetus __ The IUD sunk into her flesh a bitter reminder of that fear
Note: This poem uses text from “China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization” by AP staff, AP, June 29, 2020, and “Pandemic causes China to ban breeding of bamboo rats and other wild animals” by Emily Feng and Amy Cheng, NPR, June 28, 2020.
©2020 Kat Bodrie
All rights reserved
Kat Bodrie’s prose and poetry have appeared in Waymark: Voices of the Valley, West Texas Literary Review, Rat’s Ass Review, and other publications. She lives in North Carolina. Learn more.
The BeZine 
Visceral and disturbing. Thanks for sharing these truths with us, even if they are unsettling. Sometimes people need to be exposed to the harsh realities of life in other places, as other genders, etc. Compassion begins with understanding and awakening, so thank you for your poems that can enlighten us to hard truths.
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Thank you for your kind words! That is exactly what I intended to do. I want people to understand what is happening in the world today, especially social justice issues they don’t know about. I hope to include these two poems in a chapbook I’m calling _While You Worried about Toilet Paper_. There is so much happening out there besides the pandemic!
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