October in the Earth

by Olivia Hawker

Love is a thing that’s given, not taken. This is something I know far deep inside, in the quietest part of my soul where loneliness can’t reach, where even fear can’t touch me. I guess I’ve always known, but it’s easy to forget when all your life you’ve heard the same voices shouting that love is obedience, love is a debt unpaid.

Maybe there isn’t much difference between fear and rejoicing. Maybe it’s all the same wellspring of awe. Maybe we decide whether the water tastes of joy or despair once it’s in our mouths and we’re already swallowing it down.