by Jennifer Hernandez
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| Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash |
Death of worker "ingested" into plane engine at San Antonio airport deemed suicide.
—CBS News, June 26, 2023
He leaps
into the mouth
of a monster.
Sea serpent, dragon,
Rainbow Snake, whale.
Khodumodumo,
Yulungur,
Mashenomak,
Leviathan.
In the stories—
swallowed whole—
they build fires,
light lamps,
slice livers
or hearts.
They save
whole villages,
even livestock
& porcupines.
Sometimes, they’re vomited out,
emerge pale & bald. In every
version of the tale, they escape.
This monster refused to let go.
Jennifer Hernandez lives in Minnesota where she teaches immigrant youth and writes poetry, flash, and creative non-fiction. Recent publications include Mom Egg Review, Steam Ticket, and Halfway Down the Stairs. She sees the effects of the current mental health crisis among young people in the middle school where she works and hopes that arts education can play a small role in helping mitigate the crisis.