3 things to grieve with today & any day
think "seeking comfort in an uncomfortable chair" by bruno munari but instead it's you trying to fit into the world
it’s hard being here. feeling here. in this world.
there’s an election & no one wins. except the same empire. except the same dollar. there is no limit to the wrongness of things. no bottom.
a genocide holds steady in the background. rooted so deep they call it history. you’re told you’re radical for feeling it shake you. even if it’s the smallest, softest parts of you aching.
there’s so much grief pressing in. it feels boundless. letting go, letting it just roll over, that’s surrender. that’s melting right into the rot. no way we’re doing that.
but to keep going, to keep throwing ourselves in, we have to make a place inside to carry it. all of it. a tender room for the grief and the rage. for ourselves & for each other.
here’s three glimmers to hold, three comforts. for today or whenever.
a conversation on the inner landscape of beauty with john o’donohue
this is one of those conversations you carry around like a stone in your pocket. just knowing it’s there brings comfort. it’s yours but not yours. maybe that’s why it keeps mattering. it’s like a tiny fire you don’t have to tend, just turn to, whenever you need it.
a litany for survival by audre lorde (1978)
“For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children’s mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours;
For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother’s milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.
And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.”
songs on grief by objects & sounds
my friends at objects & sounds, a music shop & label in ghent, put together this tender reflection on grief. in the book are two of my poems, along with other keepsakes. things to hold close. the sounds ask for a candle, ask you to sit quietly, let yourself soften, let the feelings wash over, stretch out, cast strange shadows on the walls inside you.
stay here
waste a while
love
slug
xxx