The Concept of . . .
C. J. Anderson-Wu
i.
… Homeland Security
is a damp firecracker
forgotten in the pocket
of old trousers
is a vow
of partial safety
is the malformed twin
of the Constitution
ii.
… Constitution
is a faded edition
tucked in a dim corner of the library
coated in dust and visible only
when the reading room is closed
is the vanished pride
of the Nation
iii.
… Nation
borders itself in forgotten land—
a stagnant puddle
from the last rainy season
trembles
as a dragonfly skims past
is the smudged oath
of Homeland Security
lingering among fallen leaves
whispers a final rustle
beneath a heavy boot
before dissolving into
blood-soaked soil
C. J. Anderson-Wu (吳介禎) is a Taiwanese writer and literary activist whose work explores historical trauma, transitional justice, and human rights. Her short story collections Impossible to Swallow and The Surveillance examine Taiwan’s White Terror era, while Endangered Youth—Taiwan, Hong Kong, Ukraine and her poetry collection Clear My Name—Taiwan, Hong Kong, Ukraine expand her focus to global struggles for freedom and sovereignty. Her writing has been recognized by numerous International awards, including the Writers’ Mastermind Contest, the Human Rights Art Festival, the Strands Lit International Flash Fiction Competition, the Invisible City Blurred Genre Literature Competition, the Wordweavers Literature Contest, the Flying Island Poetry Manuscript Contest, and the Premio Letterario Internazionale Città di Arona. Anderson-Wu at ē·rātiō.