#saying things

randomly remembered being in school during a short break between classes like in my early teens doing some repetitive movement to soothe myself (if it was braiding & unbraiding the ends of my hair, i was like 13 at the oldest; but it might’ve been something else) & a random girl walking up to me & going “you should stop doing that because it is a sign of a serious disorder” & then walking away. what did she mean by that?

i read don quixote at the age of like 11 or 12, & because don quixote is not in any way local literature, i tend to assume this experience is universal & get really surprised that it is not

i understand that this is because of differences in tradition, like it’s clear to me that i’m from a tradition where free verse never became the mainstream idea of poetry & became a big deal in poetry circles comparatively recently (not exclusively 1990s-early 21st century, but, it seems to me as a person who knows little, most significantly then), so that i personally could witness people bemoaning free verse as ruining poetry (with political associations about The Youth nowadays with their liberal views, blue hair & pronouns, & poetry without meter), & the native english speakers on the internet are Not from that tradition, & free verse did become the dominant poetry form in their tradition & seems to even register as such to people not in poetry circles. but i am what i am & my eye twitches when i hear that free verse is not real poetry & anyone can write free verse. also because it’s obviously not true & as usual, this silly “this is not real art because i could make it” nonsense is both usually inaccurate & reveals this odd equation of “technical skill” & “art quality” which, like, try looking at things & thinking about what they make you feel! if what they make you feel is anger or discomfort or fear, try thinking about why! to equate art to the amount of time & effort it took to [learn to] make it is rob yourself of engaging with it at all! but mostly because i feel like i am talking to some conservative Defending the Form as done by Pushkin or whatever

My body is a graveyard, not as holy as a temple, but still shouldnt be desecrated.