i catch & release this news

“a former prison warden & his brother face additional charges in the shooting of migrants in West Texas…the victims were not identified by name” 
-CNN

i catch & release this news 

they call it that like we are fish
born to blue vastness caught  
by nets or state lines. toss that which
is not useful. in rich countries fishing 
is sport. i am told they catch 
then release the fish as if the entire 
point is power, a tally that is fun 
& bottomless. freedom is an ability
to float in sweet or brackish waters 
imagine a sailor who does not belong 
at sea imagine jesus of nazareth on a raft 
net in hand. predicting an animalness 
they want me to bite anzuelos 
suelo the granular ground 
hooking my annular mouth 
pariah mouthing. baiting,
when you present what is not 
presentable. i am numb, no longer
knocked punched out by their hooks 
& tv news & border budgets. 
when i reach out a hand, water 
pours from my body. what is 
the difference between releasing 
& controlling. think of the reservoir 
they last drank from. what is 
the difference between a hog a bird & a duck 
the sheppard brothers learned 
while hunting thou shalt not kill 
two immigrants, there is no difference
fish hog bird duck one man & one woman 
drinking life. come out you sons of bitches
little asses. the same corrugated-eyed 
warden who some time ago spoke 
sweet words a father tells his son
now you belong to me boy

JUANIA SUEÑOS

Juania Sueños co-founded and is an editor at Infrarrealista Review. Her work has appeared in Acentos Review, New York Quarterly, Sybil Journal, The Skink Beat Review, Porter House Review, and Nat. Brut. She is a migratory bird from Zacatecas. On her desk sit many peculiar, sidewalk-found objects, an MFA diploma in Creative Writing from Texas State, and other boring credentials given to her by institutions. Her novel in verse Topography of a Borderline Bird is forthcoming from Mouthfeel Press.