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From: Vol.09 N.01 – A Poetics of Rights

Offal Baptism

by Jan Cronos
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.
Published: August 2022
Jan Cronos

is based in New York and their works include flash fiction, short stories and poetry. Recent publications include Silver Pen Magazine and Star 82 Review

An Australian and international
journal of ecopoetry and ecopoetics.

Plumwood Mountain Journal is created on the unceded lands of the Gadigal and Wangal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to elders past, present and future. We also acknowledge all traditional custodians of the lands this journal reaches.

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