Untitled Poem

by Samantha Kisare

Breathlessness and tightened chests

Being short of breath

It’s nothing new

Between broken homes, broken bodies

Broken families, broken hearts

Many have been gasping for breath for a long time

I want to be hopeful but people are dying

Makeshift bandana masks

Don’t protect my little brothers’ brown faces

Broken ribs make breathing painful

To fill the lungs with air again,

You must mend the lingering pain