Your Gentle Guide to Healing

illustration by Nat Akinyi

1: let yourself feel everything–softness is not weakness

hold my breath
let rage rush through
flood my veins until
there is no more blue
only crimson
tears stain my cheeks
find myself drowning
think that i am weak

wild oceans only know how to seethe foam
i crash into a place i’m forced to call home

You used to think anger was the only acceptable response—you had to harden yourself to the world so nothing would hurt.

Sure, you would publicly cry on Instagram about boys ruining your life, about your parents not understanding you, about people being problematic in your DMs, but when the personal was interwoven with the political, when your identity became heavy to bear, being vulnerable was not an option…

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