BODY COPYRIGHT
in this mad day and age
of AI
run amok
we are teetering on the edge
of the possibility
where our very faces
could be pirated
from us
for want of owning
the copyright to our nose
mouth
and eyes
is there a limit
to the theft
of our human beings’ physical integrity
if our uncopyrighted limbs
could go in limbo
our uncopyrighted voice
could lose its echo
our uncopyrighted soul
could go
through the digital copy machine
of the imperialist ego ?
behind the scenes
a silent genocide
dismembering our bodies
is biding its time
(c) Julia Wright July 9th 2025. All Rights Reserved.
A MEMORY OF BLOODY WATER
i remember
a Ray Bradbury short story
about the writer
walking along a Southern France beach
and stumbling on Picasso
drawing a sketch
in the sand
within reach of the waves
how can one save
he wondered
such a valuable piece of art
from the incoming tide?
today
at the time of the zionist genocide
Palestinians carefully carve
in the sand of Gaza beach
the message
“Save Gaza”
in beautifully shaped letters
that are a work
of the heart
today
we call on the high tide
that will erase the letters
to remember a message
far more valuable than any doodles
by a thousand Picassos
that it may –
a memory of bloody water –
wash up on our shores
(c) Julia Wright. July 7, 2025. All Rights Reserved.
RIVERS CANNOT BE CRIED HERE
“Strict security restrictions have been imposed in the maritime area adjacent to Gaza—entry to the sea is prohibited,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on the social media site X Saturday. “This is a call to fishermen, swimmers, and divers — refrain from entering the sea. Entering the beach and waters along the entire Gaza Strip endangers your lives.”
Israel Bans Gazans From Entering Sea Under Pain of Death
on one side of the ocean
in Alligator Alcatraz
immigrants cast as criminals
are tortured
by the weaponization of water
by rain among makeshift electric wires
by drinking from toilets
by the dread of incoming hurricanes
and
the alleged terror of infested swamps
surrounding the first of many such
concentration camps
on the other side of the ocean
parched children in Gaza
are deliberately targeted
like human animals
before they reach the trough –
seven of them yesterday
dehydrated babies
cannot afford to cry
because their tears
are
their only inner river
and
driven to beach themselves
as the whales we all are
the People of Gaza
are now banned
from entering their own sea
or they must pay
the death penalty
just for taking a gulp
of Hope’s spray
(c) Julia Wright. July 14, 2025. All Rights Reserved
MOURNING-LAG
To Rachel, my little sister gone one year ago already
the plane has long landed
and
time has turned back
to what it was
but the sorrow
of losing you
remains
time lagged
a white cloud
that will not break
tears at my heart
rear mirrored
i leave behind
your colorless room
a shell emptied
of your presence
tell me
is your passage easier
now that
for the last time
i have swept your tiles?
for a threadbare moment
i may think
lightheartedly
that the last dust removed
will help you
to move on
but
jagged bits
of splintered time
fall too slowly
through
the mourning-glass
another dawn has now broken
and
morning may be here
in this hemisphere
but the time zone
of the heart
is still
dark
(c) Julia Wright. July 23, 2025. All Rights Reserved..
AN INVOCATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE PANTHERS WE ALL ARE
to Colin Kaepernick to thank him for his superb defense of Mumia’s innocence
when i heard
that the Florida Panthers –
Panthers like me –
would be endangered
by Alligator Alcatraz
i rushed to find out
what i could
about the ICE drive
chasing them
out of their wetland habitat
and
similar to the hunt of cointelpro
leaving nowhere for them to go
there is no record
of a Florida Panther
ever killing a human
but now that a concentration camp
high speed built to cage innocent humans
is pushing
innocent wildlife back
as undesired animals
where are the Florida Panthers to go?
meanwhile
when i reached the internet
all i could find
was breaking news
upon
breaking news
about
the Florida Panthers Hockey on Ice team –
their national prominence
their victories
their legendary roars
and only
briefly mentioning
as an afterthought
their now dying totem
how many
will change their name
to Hockey against ICE team?
will just one of them
refuse to take a knee
during the anthem’s cacophony
to remind
millions of fans
that there is nobody
to protect
the Panthers
they owe their name to –
the Panthers
we have survived
to still be?
(c) Julia Wright. July 27, 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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