hundreds of words

thousands
before
by
me
to draft this time and say this is
an unclear day
of
successful tragic irony
for

European discovery
and the fact that
millions
didn’t need discovering
at all

a day
two days now
in a month of Latinx to emphasize
and
to respect
and might we say the merging
over years and
anyway
the human way inexorable

might
bring down and build
up
good history and awful
but
learning and living thus
all
colors in the world
in ourselves
all
the time

for 12 October 2026

c l couch

two books come to mind: Encounter by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Shannon, and The Sneetches (and other stories) by Doctor Seuss

photo by Timur Seyfelmlyukov on Unsplash