How Things Have Changed (yet stayed the same)
A Sky-ku for Gaza
I used to notice
Starry nights and waving kites
Now, the sky explodes
About the Creator
Oneg In The Arctic
A queer storyteller and poet of arctic adventures, good food, identity, mental health, and more.
Co-founder of Queer Vocal Voices
Water is Life ✊
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More stories from Oneg In The Arctic and writers in Poets and other communities.
Empathy Without Self-Erasure
Author’s Note These pieces were written for those who feel deeply and were never taught how to stay intact while doing so. Empathy is often praised without being explained. Many of us learned to feel early, thoroughly, and instinctively— but not how to remain inside ourselves while we did. What follows is not a guide to becoming less sensitive. It is an invitation to become more embodied. Throughout this series, I name the difference between empathy and enmeshment—not to judge past ways of coping, but to offer language for a line many of us were never shown. Awareness does not require responsibility. Presence does not require self-erasure. If, while reading, you notice your body tighten, rush, or brace—pause. That is information, not failure. Let these words meet you at your pace. Let what resonates stay. Let the rest pass through. This work is meant to support connection that is mutual, care that is clean, and compassion that does not cost you yourself. You were never meant to carry what is not yours. You were meant to feel—and still belong to your body. — Flower InBloom 🌿
By Flower InBloom6 days ago in Poets
If You Write A Book, Don’t Tell Anyone
There are days when I’m grateful Amazon doesn’t tell me specifically who has bought my book and who hasn’t. If they did, I would be heartbroken when I read the list and noticed all the important names in my life were not on my list of customers.
By Ellen Frances5 days ago in Writers
Comments (5)
Powerful
You've said so much in so few words. Great work!
This has a punch that really tells the times we are living in
My heart skipped a beat or two; such powerful momentum 💜
The contrast is so striking and heartbreaking :( Beautiful piece to continue highlighting this tragedy still unfolding.