breaking down by Daniel Liu (16, Florida)

i. stress 
the boulder on a fragile leaf, 
the weight of a thousand worlds 
stacked on a butterfly wing. ​

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ii. grit 
the iron hurts the most. the iron-soured
skin emptying bullets into bloodstreams,
we power the city. 

iii. silence 
probably the worst part. the tree branches stretch.
the ground rumbles and ends. bitter fruit
bleaches the broken earth.

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