Today’s poem is Elephants Born Without Tusks by Allison C. Rollins.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It’s one thing to think about animals that have evolved to adapt to their habitats: maybe they are camouflaged from predators, or they develop physical traits to help them withstand the elements. But what about humans? We have the ability to live anywhere, thanks to human technologies. We’ve built a society that protects us from natural predators—except for other humans, that is. So what kind of evolution might help us survive in these dangerous times?I thought about this question, and I didn’t like the answers. I suppose the way to survive in a country that fears difference is to repress difference—to look, and to become, more like the people in charge. The way to survive in a capitalist system that values profits above mutual aid is to become greedier. But surviving like this feels like a de-evolution. It’s the opposite of progress.”

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