Published in The Power of Poetry·Jun 17Member-onlyJadePoets are not supposed to be jaded. Poets are supposed to feel everything, at once, all the time, and like it. By this measure, before I called myself a poet, I was one; my threshold as an emotional sponge is the stuff of legend. But since I became a poet…Poetry2 min read
Mar 28Member-onlyUnder ConstructionI sleep with the windows open. I welcome the night air as it fills my bedroom, and on the mornings I am lucky enough to rise early, I get to hear my city come to life. On the mornings I am not so lucky, my alarm clock is the rattling…Spoken Word2 min read
Jan 3Member-onlySafe SpaceWhen I first moved to Brooklyn, I barely registered that my home was near a park. See, this park was more concrete than green, and most of that green was turf. This park was long and narrow, and flanked by tall municipal buildings that just look like they’re about to…Spoken Word4 min read
Dec 8, 2021Member-onlyFor the Girls Who Cannot See ThemselvesI hold in my hands a mirror. I hold it up to you, but you wince and look away. Or, you find, with lightning speed, the needle in the haystack that won’t stop pricking you, and calling you ugly, fat, unworthy. …Spoken Word2 min read
Oct 26, 2021Member-onlyOde to FionaThe boys thought they knew what she meant: “I’ve been a bad, bad girl.” The boys only wanted to watch the music video — knee high socks, cotton briefs, heroin chic. They thought it was about sex. At thirteen, I saw it was about loneliness. The only girl in the…Poetry2 min read
Published in Human Parts·Sep 22, 2021Member-onlyWhen I Say I Do Not Want ChildrenThere is a gulf between my head, heart, and body that it is not possible to close — This piece was first performed on September 16, 2021 at Parkside Lounge in New York City. It is dedicated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, five members of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the 87th Legislature of the state of Texas. My body wants to bear…Spoken Word4 min read
May 14, 2021Member-onlyFather-Daughter Recursion TrapThere’s no firm protocol for handling a relationship with a wayward parent. I’ve often wished there was, that in certain situations I could have looked at some flowchart optimized for a healthy father-daughter relationship — or at least peaceful coexistence — that would tell me what to do. I could…Memoir13 min read
Published in Be Yourself·Mar 12, 2020How to Survive Social DistancingAbout a month ago, I shared a story about my recent bout with mania. It screwed up my life a whole lot! Since then, I’ve been slowly picking up the pieces — in my life and my brain. My workload shrank by about forty percent. I pulled out of an…Pandemic4 min read
Published in Invisible Illness·Feb 14, 2020Member-onlyOn the Last Episode…Let’s talk about mania, people! I was in it not too long ago. Someone once described my writing as “uncommonly honest,” so here we go, folks, an uncommonly honest conversation about my bipolar disorder. Until January, I hadn’t had an episode in nearly ten (ten!) years. This was a big…Mental Health4 min read
Published in Invisible Illness·Jan 22, 2019Emotional PhysicsThe settling. The re-settling, letting nerves and bones and skin fall back into place. The watching. Resisting the urge to punish or force unnatural shapes at uncommon speed. It’s not waiting, this return to center, but to mistake it for waiting is easy. And the desire for easy is palpable…Mental Health2 min read
