Accute Respitory Porridge
Three rocks lift a porridge pot off of an open fire.
Smoke and dust belch from the heart of the flame.
Visible and invisible particles and molecules compete with oxygen.
The five meter by five meter space is sealed.
Mosquitoes stay out. Particulate matter stays in.
A mother drops another handful of charcoal and the fire fights back accordingly.
It took a ten hour round trip walk to get that charcoal.
As always, she walked without her husband.
Incomplete combustion and carbon monoxide.
A deep inhale.
A sigh.
An unfounded fantasy of another part of the world, someplace out of here.
A baby on the mothers back starts to cry.
As always, she is alone with her mom.
Her father is off at work, lifting bags of coal from a truck with his black stained hands.
