After today, I’m on break for a few weeks. I’m in need of the cave, some respite and retreat. I’ll head to the woods this time around. Uninterrupted by the screen. I’m a performer at heart, so this social media outlet serves such a specific part of my true spirit. I make things for you. Everything I create is meant to be an accessible gift. But the screen is not the same as the stage. The screen has a way of keeping us way longer than the stage does, working us for free, hour after hour. It’s an intense labor, this screen time, and I need to replenish. I’ll read poetry aloud to no one, I’ll study, dance, and sing. I’ll listen to the non-human voices of the world and translate them. I’ll be sure to report back in full lyric, with honor, with pleasure. I truly learn a lot through this screen work—mainly through the challenges it brings, but also through some real inspiration. Thank you for such a powerful year in this weird electronic space of shared expression. You all keep me afloat. Email me if it’s urgent. And please, go read my books. That makes it all tangible and worthwhile. This poem is from The Edge of the Continent Volume Three - The Desert.