NEW REPUBLIC

Miles:
Welcome citizens of the New Republic
We have come here on the plane of a new horizon
Rising higher in our humanity
“Be Strong” is the words we chant.
We live in victory now.
We have abolished crime.
We have rid ourselves of war.
We have become a powerful, functioning machine,
And now we can live free.
We are free.
In the rise of the New Republic.

Kerri:
I remember
My bags packed and waiting for me at the foot of the stairs
With my parents
We kept our hugs inside
Passed the threshold of the door
Only allowed to wave
As I left home

Alyssa:
I remember
Her hands felt soft
In mine through parks before the shadows came
Hands pressed together until they ticketed our affection

But this wasn’t the first time
My closet told a story of the price tag
Every kiss was paid for in full
We blanketed our hearts with


Miles:
Some murmurs have come from the disloyal
But we must shut our ears
For the weak will always falter
They will drop the world of peace we have created
Because they can not accept some slight discomfort
They have rejected our laws
Defied our fines
If harder enforcement is what will convert the misled
Then we will take the responsibility
As your proud,
New republic.
To stop the insolence
Through whatever means necessary
And bring peace to our nation.

Through whatever means necessary.

Alyssa:
I was holding her when they came for me
Arms frozen around her shrinking frame
They had to break both shoulder blades to unhinge me from her
Cut my fingers from her face
I was stained beet red and screaming,
Plucked from the earth before ripening long enough
I opened my eyes to darkness
Collapsed in a ball of broken bones
I could feel the rest of them around me
Quiet, broken just the same

Meg:
Will they remember
When touches felt like new days
Sunsets on your skin
Mill me down
This world has turned inside out
To change the organs of our beings
Can blood flow cold?
Can love live in a vacuum?
Will I be enough to feed beginnings to people before the end?

Kerrolita: He fell from the swingset
Crippled down on concrete pavement
Grasping tiny hands to a glass face
He nominates emotion.
Head bowed in shame
But mamas not watchin’ him
Freckled nose in a charcoal book
She connects with her characters
Scrunched face in pain,
He screams.
Kneeling down to comfort my little brother’s face
Eyes woven together like cloth
I press hard on his bleeding wounds
Whisper into his little ear not to cry
He can’t cry, he can’t cry

Miles: There are no tears

Kerri: Paying no mind to my insight
I’m shoved back
Held down
There is nothing but sand in my eye
Pocket knife to eye socket
I watch my brother’s pupils dilate
Fear-filled, red drops dripping out
Of his lidless balls
My mother stood lifeless
Wrapped her arms around herself
Cos it was the closest thing to a hug

Miles: There is no embracing

Kerri: She could feel outside of her books anymore