CXCVIII

Truisms from poet Nayirrah Waheed - 

Love does not ask you to be nothing for something 

Remaining soft in fire takes time

Kindness is a form of intelligence

I wake to you everywhere yet you are not here

There is no healthier drug than creativity

The thing you are most afraid to write

Write that

[Images: Bianca Padilla for Harpers Bazaar Turkey]

CXCVII

I don't even know 

How to begin

To explain all the ways

That the world is not the way 

I thought it was

[Image: Marta Gawron for ELLE Croatia]

CXCVI

This freckle on my top lip is new

It’s never been kissed by you

I wonder if it ever will

Be

Something you are accustomed to

Or if it will belong to a stranger

Some day

Soon

I wonder who

Is that something I’d hope for?

Or am I too busy hoping for you?

Somebody help me know

This freckle, where is it going to go

[Image: Giedre Dukauskaite for The Edit]