ENVIRONMENT MANDALA by Sumiah Kabir

46,000 of their brothers and sisters wait in every square mile But this is not a poem about 20 percent of Aquafina water bottles which live a new life or the 80 percent which do not

This is not a poem about Flint, Michigan where months after the water was deemed unsafe for car engines it was deemed safe for people This is still not a poem about Flint, Michigan Where the government smiled and shook its head (which has, did you know, undergone a 7-step purification system) and promised Over and over again this is not a poem about Flint, Michigan

This is not a poem about 783 million people who may or may not have safe drinking water or about climate change or about imperialism or capitalism or any ism at all

This is a poem about a 24-pack of Aquafina water bottles which are as they say free of cost

ENVIRONMENT MANDALA