Shrouded Poem
Photo Credits: Environmental Justice Is Our Cry of Defense Ricardo Levins Morales
By Ariana Thornton
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,
Richmond, California,
Cancer Alley of Louisiana, and
more are covered by a funeral shroud—smoke plaguing
from nearby oil, gas, and plastic plants, festering
in low-income communities,
Black and Brown bodies,
to produce asthma,
lung disease,
heart disease,
strokes.
Take the hours-long drive to Great Falls now, and
watch comfortably spaced houses of
suburban neighborhoods dissolve into
acres of woodlands, expanses of lawns
(well-manicured, green),
beautiful mansions in the richest,
most coveted zip code in Virginia,
where well water is clear and
forest air is fresh,
where children ...
