my body made milk
poured it into my kid’s mouth
along with my best intentions
strong teeth, antibodies
only liquid gold
for six years
not knowing I was
transferring nonbiodegradables
give her the bottle
and she’d collect 1.5 million
PVC particles
instead
after milk I give
her shrimp and fish
polymer feeders, all three
at the beach she swallows
seawater, in between dips
I watch her
breathe plastics in air
drink purified water that isn’t
actually pure
draw and devour
moon-shaped chips
from a blue plastic packet
every day I realize
she might as well be eating
herself
This was first published in The Hooghly Review on April 15, 2022.
