Do the Thing
Lately, I have been reminded time and again—perhaps too many times at this point—that life is short. Sometimes, you can see the end barreling toward you. Other times, you can’t. It’s impossible to say what’s better or worse, or if even that question matters.
Thinking on everything (I’m talking around something here, for the sake of someone else’s privacy), all I can tell you is to let people in. Let people care. Let people love you. Even if you’re scared. Because yeah, it’s vulnerable. And being vulnerable to hurt is scary.
But being vulnerable is also pretty damn wonderful, when it pans out. When it opens a door. When you make a new friend, start a new love, or find yourself in a position to see and be seen.
Do the thing.
It’s not easy. Or simple. And it’s not without risk. (Ask me how many times I’ve sobbed on the floor. A lot. The answer is a lot.)
Loving people, caring about them — it’s the whole damn point. And it’s a lot like writing poetry, honestly. There’s something vulnerable about putting words on a page. Leaving them there for someone to look at, to judge, to weigh.
And yet, time and again, the words get written. Or said. And time and again, there’s something sacred in that. Holy, but not in the religious sense. In the communal one, in the spirit of connection.
Writing a poem is a lot like falling in love: you’re never sure you’re getting it right, but you’re trying like hell. And that’s what matters: the trying. None of us are perfect. We all screw up.
Is your heart in the right place? Can you follow it like a compass? To me, that’s what matters. What matters to you? (Not an easy question. And sometimes, utterly unanswerable.)
I think caring/loving is the whole damn reason we’re here.
In an unrelated note, perhaps you missed last week’s cover reveal for Offerings for Ordinary Gods? And perhaps you find yourself wanting to preorder it? I’ve got links!
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/offerings-for-ordinary-gods-ali-trotta/1147889893?ean=9781968043100
InkwoodNJ: https://www.inkwoodnj.com/browse/filter/t/offerings%20for%20ordinary%20gods/k/keyword
@mystgalaxybooks.bsky.social :
https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781968043100@goldennotebkbooks.bsky.social: https://goldennotebook.com/book/9781968043100
@oblongbooks.bsky.social: https://www.oblongbooks.com/book/9781968043100
Also? Please clap, because I updated my website to include Poetry Collections and Eric Smith/Neighborhood Literary!
Until next time, kittens!
XOXO