sometimes i think
the whole world is built on NO
a NO you can sink your teeth into,
a NO you can pull up by its roots,
a NO you can tear up into pieces
and stomp into the ground,
like someone else's history

But humans have great capacities.
Filled with sadness, they do not burst.

Not bursting, they make coffee
and ride the bus to work.
Not bursting, they band their bodies into circles,
together, and talk things through,

the memories and contradictions gathered in their throats,
like rain on concrete,
unable to reach earth.

i am a NO.
we make a NO with our bodies.