Hi everyone,
Welcome to 365 Days of Poetry & Honesty. I hope this week has been kind to you 💌
I've been reflecting on what it means to surrender, to give yourself over to the will of the universe and trusting that it'll take you to where you need to be. It's a scary process, but I'm learning that if my heart is open, if I listen, then the world around me will open up, and that's not to say there aren't societal obstacles, structures, institutions etc. in the way but I can't let that stop me from expressing myself. And it might take a while for things to change, to see the world around me differently, but it's happening, and I think part of trusting the universe, trusting God, whatever you believe in, is patience. That's what I'm holding onto at the moment, and it's helping me get through the blue. And with that, here's some poetry & a few songs I’ve been listening to this week :)
Monday
Tend to your heart, your feelings matter. Look after yourself! You're worthy of that love & attention, and sometimes you have to make it a priority to give that to yourself. That's this poem, and I took ‘fairytale thoughts’ from Sylvia Plath & 'water-lily world' i took from Mary Oliver.
Tuesday
I think when I pray/write to God, it's Love I'm trying to invoke, in the sense that I'm hoping that through it all, it's Love that will prevail, and I think that's why I get so caught up in the idea of love. And I go back & forth on intimacy & the illusion of intimacy, the illusion of love but at the core of me, I have faith in Love. I don't know if I'm making sense or if it even speaks to the poem I'm sharing below but yeah, I believe Love will carry me home. What that looks like I don't know, but I have nothing left to lose. Plus this world is a beautiful place.
Wednesday
This poem, I'm writing to God. But it started because I was thinking about my first official boyfriend & how he went on holiday, wrote my name in the sand and sent me a picture. At the time I thought it was a bit soppy, but truth be told, it's what I like, and it's a really gesture. You can't be here (and I wish I could've gone) but this picture, the process of writing the letters of my name, he's drawing out my spirit, and in that same vein, this is to God.
Thursday
Two poems today. & Both of them, it's two different sides of the same coin, like the back & forth between love & the illusion of love. And recently I'm wondering if by loving someone, allowing yourself to love & be loved, you have to give something up, concede, or maybe it's not conceding at all, not when it's love. What are your thoughts?
Friday
A love poem! Something hot!
Saturday
It hurts to become, but you can only move through it & me, I dream of butterfly wings (mostly metaphorical but wouldn't it be beautiful?!)
Sunday
Two poems on Sunday! The first by one of my favourites, Mary Oliver, and the second, a beautiful poem by Dorianne Laux.
Thank you for reading this week’s newsletter. Let me know your thoughts on the poems ❤️
With love,
Phoenix