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.