I saw this one on the poetry Instagram I follow and it was an interesting counterpoint to my whole “can I be anywhere but here?” vibe lately. (I dunno, I still would like to be by a warm ocean long enough to be over it…)
i’m going back to Minnesota where sadness makes sense
by Danez Smith
o California, don’t you know the sun is only a god
if you learn to starve for her? i’m over the ocean
i stood at its lip, dressed in down, praying for snow.
i know, i’m strange, too much light makes me nervous
at least in this land where the trees always bear green.
i know something that doesn’t die can’t be beautiful.
have you ever stood on a frozen lake, California?
the sun above you, the snow & stalled sea—a field of mirror
all demanding to be the sun, everything around you
is light & it’s gorgeous & if you stay too long it will kill you.
it’s so sad, you know? you’re the only warm thing for miles
the only thing that can’t shine.