The Off Week / 22nd September 2024

The refresh and reminder

Last week's newsletter was a big write-up, and I want to give it space to breathe, so today, I am not going to say too much. Instead, I am going to say, go read last week's newsletter; it is one of my favourites. Next week, I will discuss academia and how we are perceived based on our education. I imagine that one is going to be another long ride. For this week, there is a poem I am currently working on called ‘How To Stay Alive’ and a photo of the sky because the sky does miraculous things. Enjoy the poem, I will see you next Sunday!!

HOW TO STAY ALIVE

I heard a rumour

that if nobody says your name

then you never actually existed. 

At night

I say my name in the mirror

to grant myself a reflection. 

I swear at my mother

anytime I feel myself

fading away.

In bed

I practice forgiveness

so I don’t run out of mornings.

There is so much more 

to survival

than staying alive. 

I nightmare 

of the silence 

that may bloody my tongue. 

I wake up and start praying.

I ask that heaven finds the ground 

and I attach my name to every syllable. 

I seal it off with an amen

but I put 

my own address on the envelope.