We Are All Stories, Too
Recently, I was talking to a friend about the things that hold us back, the ghosts from another life. The secrets laced into memory, the things we carry but rarely want to look at.
It’s just so easy to run. To give in to fear. To turn our backs. To dig up reasons why not, because it’s safer. Easier. Neater.
To not ask the question, hallowed in your heart. To turn that possibility away like a song you can’t listen to anymore. To let yourself go quiet, instead of speaking up or reaching out.
We all carry the ghosts of our past—sometimes in overt ways, sometimes not. No one gets out of this life unscathed, no more has an unmarred heart. We’ve all got stories. We all are stories, too. Every heartbeat, a chapter. Every kiss a footnote. Every goodbye an ellipsis.
When I am afraid (reasonably or not), I hesitate. I what-if. I talk myself in circles. I overthink. I know that I do these things. I know I interrogate something from every angle, as if doing that can prevent disappointment or bolster courage. Or quiet the old ghosts.
But nothing can do that, except defying them. Not letting them win or make decisions. And so, if there is something you’ve been putting off—a question you’ve been thinking about asking—make today the day you do it. Make today the day you see what happens.
If for no other reason than to spite those ghosts. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll pipe down for a while.
Odds and Ends
ICYMI, I’ve got a poetry collection coming out next year from CLASH Books! I am elated. This is an absolutely dream come true, and I can’t wait for y’all to read Offerings for Ordinary Gods.
If you’re an SFPA member, I’ve got two poems up for the Rhysling Award—one short and one long: “The High Priestess Falls in Love with Death” from The Deadlands and “The High Priestess Writes a Love Letter to The Magician” from Uncanny. I’m deeply proud of them both, and I really hope you’ll get them a read and vote for them, if you enjoy them.
https://youtu.be/ehPkOR76gGo?si=snC40xJ2VPS5zLbg