Offal Baptism

To cleanse
immersed in water
heaven’s immaculate channel
a native child to be blessed
to receive a liquid halo
instead

is steeped in sewage
an offal soup
that clogs her nose
with toxic waste and week old shit
a corporation’s dumped
the chemicals it uses
to sterilize frying pans
and made a cesspool
of a river.
Instead of holiness,
the kid is rendered
poisonous. 

So sad, they overlooked the sign: 
Don’t swim, don’t drink,
don’t even stick your toe inside
the water’s just a pot
of stink.