after ada, bethany, carolyn, cortney, cynthia,
david, diana, emily, laurel, mary, neecie,
sarah & the thunderhead

neglect is lethal procrastination; my
gut moves me to love y’all & most of
myself. what if i was brave today?
aging into who i’ve always been,
terror then soft. carolyn says courageous
acts enter a poem: lotus colony
blooming atop surface of muck.
if you are reading you are absorbing,
if you are writing you’re shilling ink
across parchment & folding the page
into a rorschach blot. each person
you hold it up to will see something
different but it doesn’t detract from
masterpiece. take what’s yours &
rest is not for you. radical bravery–
emily says whatever the result is won’t
unravel ends of you. to create art is to
fabricate hope in a face of misery &
while bethany says dreams may make
us look foolish then crown me as the
king of jesters & don’t forget to kiss
my ring. there’s a difference between
mindless slumber & intentional lucid
dreaming, astral projecting into the
oval office with a glock. somebody’s
gotta do it, the way luigi has become
a verb for what is correct & moral.
courage in the face of conglomerates.
grief is not an excuse for depravity;
it is brave to speak your mind but
not always act your age. it is brave
to be steadfast in your morality even
when big brother tries to brainwash
altruism from your hands & feet.
self-talk builds me back & i don’t care
if i’m perceived mumbling to myself;
often i’m provider of catharsis most
of what was once stolen that i managed
to get back & of course i will share with
who & what & how i love. we know
that care is the cure though so few
are willing to act, don’t let the selfish
animal of your body take over even
when starving. mettle is staying close
to the way we are made; instinctive
predators that somehow ended up
at the top of a food chain creating
a nearly inescapable god-complex.
let me break it down for you: grief
is not the only geography i know.
i study wind chimes, breeze blocks,
undercurrents & iris patterns as i
mime sign language of worlds,
their tiny middle fingers.

Bio: jp thorn is a queer, neurodivergent artist raised in & returned to the bible belt. advocate for destigmatization & radically open communication, their work is inspired by humanness, reframing traditionalism, therapeutic processes, unlearning patriarchy, identity, & global patterns. you can find more of their work here.

Photo from The Independent UK