cayla witt

“I want to talk
about what happened
without mentioning
how much it hurt.
There has to be a way.
To care for the wounds
without reopening them.
To name the pain
without inviting it back
into me.”
― Lora Mathis

“I did not beg him to stay
because I was begging God
that he would not leave.”
― Warsan Shire

“Like any / unloved thing, I don’t know if I’m real /
when I’m not being touched.”
― Natalie Wee, Our Bodies & Other Fine Machines

“Yes, you can love the river. The knife. The pills. / The wine. You can love a thousand lonelinesses.”
― Jeanann Verlee