The Limits of Language

The Limits of Language

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it was something about the bounce in my step,
in the rippling jiggle of my belly & breasts,
something about the periwinkle painted pinkies,
the purple pointers, the chipping its own kind
of fashioning, something about the bend
of the wrist, of the flick, about the way it shares
the blunt, something about passing, breaths
falsetto’d, about the difficulty of altitudes—
& maybe less how & why, more when & where—
all of the comings in & out, something about pride
with a sibling fear of my own body, someone
checking the clock, how a sentence shivers,
something about my sentient shivering, everything
about how i’m too sensitive sometimes, too
sensual, something suspect & censured,
something to do with attunement, with pulses
in the blood, something about water & thickness
& viscosity, something more like nectar, yeah,
like golden honey, like golden bees & their buzzing
geographies—the gut brain in the hive mind,
something closer to how land shifts & water waves & waves,
something like the supple becoming of flora & fungi, then,
of drifting pollen, yeah, reaching closer to something
in how limbs can reach & how nails reach in that reach
like a camera eye zooming in, out, in, all a single take

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

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