I used to drown myself
in a sea of articles with titles
that read “Vanishing Islands
Gone by 2050”.
It became easy to imagine
my archipelago’s fate
as a washed-out graveyard
swallowing up the un-fled,
Aquamarine gem
smudged off the world’s frowning face
with a quick, careless swipe
of Western man’s hand,
a narrative so certain
and scientific, I nearly forgot
that I was brought up
on resilience.
As if I did not
watch us rebuild
after each “once-in-a-century”
Hurricane Dorian, Matthew, and Irma.
As if my people,
loud and vibrant
like the parrots parading our skies,
could ever concede to despair.
So now, when I sit in a classroom
where the projections, timelines, and percentage losses
have worn into my mind
like storms onto our coast,
I think about
how many kids I want to have
and what their names will be.
Zoe Brown is a biologist and poet from The Bahamas, currently based in Oxford as she pursues her PhD. She writes poetry rooted in her personal experiences, exploring themes of identity, race, nature, and the heart
Julia Panova is an artist engaging with the simplest materials and most familiar forms—sketches, manuscripts, and monochrome prints—drawing from memory, embracing its inherent flaws and the unexpected truths in its inaccuracy. Follow Julia on Instagram: @blamecake
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