The Journey Inward

“I know what this is, this careful arranging while everything collapses. This is how we survive. This is also how we disappear.”

These words by Alessandra Olanow resonated deeply. She writes of people “filling hearts with small comforts” while the world around is hurting, aching, fighting, hungry, and full of leaders making rash decisions.

My poem is in response to the times where life as I knew it collapsed, yet I was able to both disappear and survive.

Place this here,
Drag that there,
Display those favorites,
Include pops of whimsy
And cues of inspiration.

Choose textures, colors, layers
That invite and hold,
Add blankets, pillows, candles…
The theme is comfort, after all
Sanctuary, home, belonging
Peace, joy, safety.

For it’s always those that I seek,
When the world around me collapses,
And the rug is pulled out from under me,
The breath knocked from my lungs,
And I feel all the feels…
Of the hurt, scared, abused,
The hungry, desperate, poor,
The quieted, shrunken, forgotten,
The angry, vengeful, ego-stoked.

When I feel small and helpless,
I rearrange my environment,
I begin new routines and rituals,
I sometimes connect, sometimes unplug,
I disappear into my Haven
And I survive.