The poem feels like a quiet, strangely intimate portrait of a night where ordinary moments keep brushing up against other people’s lives. There’s something tender in the way the speaker pours cereal on the bed, runs a bath, and tries to read a used book, only to be pulled into someone else’s grief through a message from her uncle. The annotations in the margins, the noise from the street, the eulogy arriving out of nowhere everything overlaps, as if the world refuses to stay outside. The poem captures that feeling of trying to be an island and realising you’re still connected to everyone around you, whether you want to be or not. The dream sequence deepens that sense of drifting through different timelines, where films, memories, and emotions blend together. By the end, when the spirit says “Oh, fascinating,” it feels like a small, knowing smile at how messy and intertwined life really is. It’s a poem that understands how even a quiet night can become crowded with other people’s stories.
I can’t tell you how gratifying it is that someone read this and was able to be inside this scene with me. I always hope (but never expect) that a reader will fully enter the mood I’ve tried to capture. Thank you, thank you!
this poem is amazing. Thank you so much. I can't wait to read more from this author. It's 6:00AM here in what was the dark. Anya Johnson, your brilliance has already made my day.
The poem feels like a quiet, strangely intimate portrait of a night where ordinary moments keep brushing up against other people’s lives. There’s something tender in the way the speaker pours cereal on the bed, runs a bath, and tries to read a used book, only to be pulled into someone else’s grief through a message from her uncle. The annotations in the margins, the noise from the street, the eulogy arriving out of nowhere everything overlaps, as if the world refuses to stay outside. The poem captures that feeling of trying to be an island and realising you’re still connected to everyone around you, whether you want to be or not. The dream sequence deepens that sense of drifting through different timelines, where films, memories, and emotions blend together. By the end, when the spirit says “Oh, fascinating,” it feels like a small, knowing smile at how messy and intertwined life really is. It’s a poem that understands how even a quiet night can become crowded with other people’s stories.
I can’t tell you how gratifying it is that someone read this and was able to be inside this scene with me. I always hope (but never expect) that a reader will fully enter the mood I’ve tried to capture. Thank you, thank you!
i really enjoyed this!!
Thank you, Emma ♥️
this poem is amazing. Thank you so much. I can't wait to read more from this author. It's 6:00AM here in what was the dark. Anya Johnson, your brilliance has already made my day.
Tara, reading this made my day, thank you!