Permacrisis Is Word Of The Year

Winter is here but the cold won’t stop
The world from burning. I do what
I have to do. Laundry. Water my plants
And bury my cat. There are a hundred
Mothers shrieking on my couch
When onion and cabbage prices
Have gone up. I turn the volume up
And listen to classical music. Before
Bed, I do twenty-minute breathing
Exercises and drink camomile tea.
My day job is writing eulogies
For strangers. I call my parents
To check if they had all what they
Need. A slab of butter. A pound
Of chicken. Fresh greens. Milk
And hypertension tablets. They will
Live a long life, but I’ll never be
Ready. Even if death is a matter of fact.

Miguel Barretto García is a queer poet and neuroscientist based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their poems have appeared or have been accepted in Poetry Northwest, RHINO Poetry, Palette Poetry, harana, Magma, among others.