In response to witnessing the stabbing of Salmon Rushdie on August 12, 2022, I created a piece in which the word WORDS repeatedly morphs into the word SWORD, as in the saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword…" and as it relates to Rushdie’s own statement, "Language, too, was a knife. It could cut open the world and reveal its meaning….". The burned/singed bottom edge of the panel reflects the danger of censorship past and present.