{"id":1134,"date":"2022-07-30T15:24:08","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T15:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge2022\/?page_id=1134"},"modified":"2023-02-18T00:20:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-18T00:20:35","slug":"cheri","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/change\/poem\/cheri\/","title":{"rendered":"Ai Ch\u00e9ri"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CONSTANT<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Ai Ch\u00e9ri<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

thick,
suffocating,
like the phlegm that lines
the length of the throat.
choking,
teeming,
to get it all out.
does it make one
less of a man?
less of a woman?
less of anything at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to be stuck between
the quick flickers
of an overflowing,
never ceasing
cup. as it
runneth over, as it
runneth over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

change is the only constant,
as the body morphs
and twists itself grotesque.
change remains the only constant.
as the world moves
on,
on and on.
roads replace fields,
mountains break down
and change is left the only constant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in this elaborate math equation,
two plus
two equals four
but when does mania equal<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

sleep?
when does anxiety equal
peace?
change is the only constant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but when does chemical x,
the imbalance,
the highs, the lows,
when does it equal
salvation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

can one find salvation in a
tongue?
the way it slides down the skin,
the slimy trail it leaves behind\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SALVATION DENIED.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

can one find salvation in a
substance?
the way it burns the throat,
the way it takes breath from the body\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SALVATION DENIED.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

can one find salvation in a
doctor?
a trusted savior!
to prescribe\u2026
[re$cr!b3 pr3$crib3 prescribe,,,
a pill to fix your broken
mind. to mend
the tears and folds
of the [MENTALLY] ill
human heart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

when change is the only constant,
how does one accept change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

when change comes day by day,
how does one stay sane?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you find salvation
in the change,
in the grotesque movement
of hips against hips,
in the painful sniff
leading 2 leading 2 leading 2
shiver down spine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you find salvation
in the bastardization of holy text,
salvation in
the never ending politics
of life on this continent,
in the adjustments of a world
that will move on without you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you find salvation
in
change
it is the only constant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Ai Ch\u00e9ri<\/strong> is a creative writing major at SAIC, aiming to shape the world through the exchange of experiences. They’ve been writing for over a decade, always with the same goal in mind: share your experience, verbalize your struggle, and help others find solace through your words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CONSTANT By Ai Ch\u00e9ri thick,suffocating,like the phlegm that linesthe length of the throat.choking,teeming,to get it all out.does it make oneless of a man?less of a woman?less of anything at all? to be stuck betweenthe quick flickersof an overflowing,never ceasingcup. as itrunneth over, as itrunneth over. change is the only constant,as the body morphsand twists itself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271,"featured_media":0,"parent":1721,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/template-full-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1134","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1134"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1863,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1134\/revisions\/1863"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/emerge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}