Liselle Yorke
i put an entire nation into a cardboard box
handled them with care down the basement stairs
opened the last door for them
the last act of common decency
i put them on the cold floor of the crawl space
tucked between winter gear and holiday lights
alongside seasons that have passed
i leave the cardboard box ajar
the way one would leave a car window
a crack for whatever humanity is left
to draw breath from if it so chooses
i touch my face and realize i am in mourning
their ideals have lived in me for so long
i can feel them dissolving the pigment of my eyes
i shed them
there is nothing to go back to
i walked out the front door
not in hope of finding a brave new world
i am in search of something very old
something lost but i am desperate now
for community within our human race
Liselle Yorke is a Trinidadian-Canadian artist based in Toronto, using poetry to express a desire to rid herself of assumptions and dig into people, herself and society. With an untethered curiosity that does not seek neat conclusions; her writing strives to create windows that display a community who celebrates, protects, and respects individuality.
