silence-relief

[silence-relief]

lina gordievsky

[silence-relief]

“Hung on my bedroom wall is the quote attributed to Joan of Arc: “I am not afraid. I was born to do this.” However my life unfolds, goes my thinking, is how I am meant to live it; however my life unspools itself, I was created to bear it.”

— Esmé Weijun Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias  

[silence-relief]

[and sometimes, on a thursday afternoon, you will sit quietly to yourself and wonder

if it was ever relief]

[silence-relief]

[your snakeskin shed past- traces of who you used to be littered for all to see. you emerge fresh, scales glittering, into the present, even as the last of yesterday peels off your tail]

[silence-relief]

[you're feeling rather hungry today. your maw stretches and strains, but you can't quite reach him]

[silence-relief]

Beast at Every Threshold, Natalie Wee

[silence-relief]

[--and when the silence did finally come, you found the pressure of all else slide away]

[silence-relief]

H.D., from Helen in Egypt

[Text ID: will what she invoked / destroy her?]

[silence-relief]

[no one is responsible and everyone is to blame. you are not your own master, you choose nothing. whose fault is it?]

[whose fault is it? whose fault is it? whose fault is it? whose fault is it? whose fault is it?]

[silence-relief]

[whose fault is it? whose fault is it? whose fault is it? whose fault is it? whose fault is it?]

[silence-relief]

[washed out and faded, frayed at the ends, worn thin at all the joints. your soul has seen better days, love. maybe it's time for a replacement?]

[silence-relief]

[it's defiance, malicious compliance, a hunger strike for the starving. it hurts you most, but it sharpens the bitter edge inside you to a point, and you aim to kill]

[silence-relief]

[the divine right to create was not shared willingly-- all you've ever made was stolen from greedy gods. make it all in your own proud image]

[silence-relief]

[crawl in between these ribs and make your home. you live here already, your elbows and teeth, all your sharp edges encompassed easily. it was practically made for you]

[silence-relief]

[it's inside you, you know. it knows every inch of you, and it's so hungry. you can't escape it. just give in. feed it now while your will is your own]

[silence-relief]

[burst forth filled with holy light, your purpose fuel for your transformation. it is better if you do not look to see how you have changed-- it will all be worth it in the end.]

[silence-relief]

[and there is something in love that is worship]