is mostly plastic, and my eyes

reflect a wall of water that devours the cctv screen.

no depths and no distance can swallow

the lifeline I throw you, but time delays

the reach, and the current is hungry.

so I’ll stand on the high ground we

stole from someone else, and carry

the anger for you.

no tongue can hold the names,

no song can hold the meanings,

but I guess we try anyway,

whilst the plastic ice cube

melts the glass that contains it.

• for the lives lost in the Nepal flooding, August 2026