simplyxoj

In Episode 199, Rachel shares a poet recommended by a listener, Milo Rey!

Rachel: In fact, Rachel Long is actually a founder of a poetry collective called the Octavia Poetry Collective for Women of Colour. She talks a lot about the experience of being what she calls, like, both the invisible and also hyper visible.

[...] And so that poem kind of gets at that a little bit, of just this idea of like trying to exist in this space and be what somebody else wants you to be, you know? And I mean, obviously I don’t have that exact experience, but that experience of being with somebody that you feel is different than you, and trying to just keep everything unique about yourself, like, hidden.

This poem always manages to catch me off guard; it's title and opening lines seem to be guiding the reader towards a peaceful, and even tender, road. But suddenly, you finish reading it and realise that, without even noticing it, you'd been steered right to the edge of a cliff. It's such a quiet, heartbreaking poem.