Emotional Impermanence
first published by Olney Magazine (2023)
Today is a good day
I see the world through an Instagram filter:
glowing and accessible
I listen to love songs and sparkle at the joy of it: love, I mean, and songs too
I love so much I feel it writhing, wet and alive, beneath my skin
At lunch time, I buy sushi – wow
How did I ever feel sad when there are people everywhere
walking along the waterfront
buying books
drinking coffee
From the window at my desk I can see a small playcentre in the distance
I watch the children fall over in the sandpit and I feel so proud
Weeds growing through the concrete footpath
Bus drivers waving at each other
A whole evening spread in front of me like a runway
I think about flash mobs and starting a not-for-profit
I google flights to Dublin and book a new tattoo
I think about how I have cried at every concert I have been to
All of us there, singing, together
It’s not long before I look back
all the way – my whole life
and it’s beautiful
It catches in the light
Nothing bad has ever happened to me
This feeling is ablaze and it will never end
I will never end
it
I feel so good that I could cry. I could sing. I could live