When the news broke, we danced. I danced beneath an alien sky. Plants bloomed: I tasted guavas firm and sharp upon my tongue. Trees flung their roots into the air, rivers reversed to flow uphill, stars spun cartwheels, the moon embraced the sun and clouds kissed the mountain when the news broke. Born in freedom, now we owned our freedom. We clasped our hands in prayer with the dead. When the news broke, we sang. I sang, softly, long forgotten songs.
‘When the news broke’ first appeared in L’Éphémère Review issue 11, August 2018.