In the Water

Today is a downpour,
thunder cracking,
dismantling our atmosphere,
heavy rain racing down,
Like a flood, like an avalanche,
like a strangle hold,
like his knee on your neck.

Today my only assignment
is to keep my little light alive
to shield it from the water and hope
it does not blink out anyways
for lack of air. 

From the artist: I wrote this piece over the summer of 2020 as I was processing my own anger and hopelessness about the racism in this country. Writing was incredibly therapeutic for me this year, as I found that writing deep into my own sadness often lead me to a way through it.

Rachel Wilkinson is a fourth-year medical student at Mount Sinai. She is interested in pediatrics, global health, and healthcare equity. In her free time, she loves to cook, write, explore Central Park, read good books and watch bad movies.