oh your finger mulatto

oh your finger mulatto

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

where did you leave it

entangled in which propeller in whose maw

who preserves it as a keepsake in a small crystal vase

who uses it for shark bait

who keeps it as a chinrest while watching pelicans and

ramparts.

maybe, mulatto

it was food for someone dying of fear on a

raft

wading through some river

scaling some fence

crossing some desert

to change identity.

maybe it lies with a moribund little boy who wanted to

breathe through your skin

as he fell to the deep

—manta ray of salt

waters run alive through your finger.

waters ablaze with imprints mulatto

who kissed and curdled your finger

who severed it gently . . .

you had almost drowned when the coastguard lifted you

and placed you in a pen

your finger’s missing passport betrays you

mislaid

who traces your footprint now mulatto

ah?

(translated by Vanessa Pérez-Rosario, click here for the original Spanish version)

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

x