Aída Esmeralda (She/They) is a queer Salvi poet and interdisciplinary tinkerer from Woodbridge, VA. She is completing an MFA in Poetry at Arizona State University. Aída unconditionally supports Palestinian liberation and stands alongside all people refusing the desires and borders of empire worldwide.

REFUSAL

War Leaves a Language (Dream Notes)

By AíDA ESMERALDA

I never ask my parents,
what was it like to punctuate a war?