This post originally appeared on October 5, 2020. It felt especially prescient as this clusterfuck of a year ends. May we all untangle the knots of ourselves and find ways to rise into a new and better 2021.
I woke up a mess
all tied in knots
a knot-person
a not-person.
To the 4 a.m. mirror
I saw myself a tangle
lungs and heart,
a twisted rope
stomach,
a coil
all of it ragged
pulled wet
and tight.
There was nothing
else for it
but to go to
and so I did
unraveling
each snarl
as the light grayed
blued
brightened
making of my heart,
a lasso
and my guts,
a rope ladder
and fixed line
with
loops to hold.
Making of my body
a way
to rise.
Original art by the author