Native to Mexico and the Caribbean

Caesalpinia pulcherrima

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Begin with the language of the instrument:

Resist. Resist the cartographies they pin

you to. Resist the names they speak

into your mouth. Refuse the proboscis,

pollination, penetration. The pioneer

with his penis and his promises

of ordered liberty. Resist temptation,

or don’t, but know you have your options.

Refuse the life forced into you:

be tannic, hell-bent. Fury of red,

a noxious, toxic seed. Cover up

with slicing spines. Dream yourself

from the disaster. Take up space;

put yourself right. No. Put yourself first.

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The italicized text in this poem is lifted from the syllabi of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, in which the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade