(Re)defining Immunity

By Shrijanna Subba

From Oxford Dictionary:

[uncountable] the body's ability to avoid or not be affected by infection and disease

From political parlance:

Freedom from liability

From my everyday reality:

The body’s ability to avoid being called as the Other,
freedom from slurs, sharpened by the parochial knife,
oozing intolerance,
like water from a grimy sponge.
This weapon,
demarcates my Self into subcategories of
Food: Momo
Anatomy: Chinki
Disease: Corona

Immunity is achieved when
my Self walk with the other(s)--
my friends, acquaintances--
the atom of majority,
their brethren, the welders of this parochial knife.
I melt into a blind spot: blasted photoreceptors,
achieve 20/200 vision.

I am (momentarily) safe.


Leave a comment