Summary

In “The Surveyed: Report on Migration of Roes,” the Panpax President welcomes the migrants from Pandem to Panpax. They hope that the migrants, or roes, find refuge in their new city. The President then distributes a survey to the migrants, asking them questions about their reasons for coming to Panpax, and their first impressions of the place. The survey particularly wants to know if the migrants “feel greater freedom & independence” in Panpax (134). The migrants answer the survey questions, describing the liberties Panpax affords them in comparison to Pandem. They particularly notice how much less they have to work and the freedom they feel to occupy a range of public spaces. The speaker goes on to explain the inspiration behind “This poem & its pain” (139).

In “[Gated],” the speaker writes a poem for everyone who has “been othered,” “haunted” or “hunted...