Dominique, Aushanti, and Laniya climb inside of me

They are not supposed to be here but Dominique caresses my gas

And suddenly I am awake

We ride through lights

Red like drops of blood in the night sky

Ignore stop signs and laugh about it

The road turns

sharp and suddenly

red and blue lights are behind us

Siren screaming cutting through the purr of my engine

Dominique slams my gas again but suddenly I don’t want to be out anymore

The steering wheel jerks and the road is missing from underneath of me.

My bumper careens down and I feel the swamp flood into me

Grass invading my vents and mud making my headlights unusable

I hear their screams

Aushanti yells

“Panicking just wastes oxygen and y’all know y’all always panic”

I feel Laniya grab ahold of my seat and wish I could smooth her hair down

Breathe her life into her as it exits

I feel them yank on my seat belts and try to take them off

They’re stuck

We see more lights around the swamp and realize there is help here

My girls start screaming asking for salvation

A deputy grabs his radio

Speaks into it

Explains the situation but it’s the last words he says that makes me realize

We are on our own

“The call for help is not urgent”

Why isn’t the call for help urgent

“Of course they’re black”

Can’t they see my babies dying

Skin begging for gills to sprout.

The womengirlsthugsgirlsdanger never get to greet the sun.

The kick and I will my glass to shatter.

Pray

Beg

For a crack

Anything

Please

Let these babies out, none of them are even over 16

Holding your breath will kill you

Breathing out will kill you

And trying to remember how to turn water to air will kill you too

I want to let them out

I never meant for this iron womb to become cage, to become trap, to become tomb

I want to let them out

My doors wont open, the water is rising

I want to let them out

The water is displacing them inside me

I want to let them out

It is their last breath

I want to let them out

It is their last--