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Jenna's avatar

"pen to the page catching words as they come, allowing

sunlight to soften the sorrow stored in these cells, saying no

to the little soldiers inside that insist I should

do something productive."

I love these lines so much, Julia--the softness of writing, of paying attention. This whole poem beautifully renders this softness.

Those little soldiers inside can be so insistent. I have been thinking a lot about productivity lately and remembering these lines I wrote in my journal a few years ago:

"I wonder what would need to break open inside of us

for us to begin to take apart

the home we have built inside productivity–

to see that this is the home the world has handed us–

and to hand it back, saying

this body is my home,

and I will decide what is welcome here."

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