Ilse

“I am glad you have an hour for books, those enthralling friends, the immortalities...”
― Emily Dickinson, Emily Dickinson: Letters

“The day breaks not: it is my heart.”
― John Donne, The Complete English Poems

“Awareness has infinite gradations, like light.”
― Ignazio Silone, Bread and Wine

“To a Depressed Friend

Sometimes, to make sure
You're still here,
Look up for cloud sustenance.

Be sure they are
Different from yesterday,
From an hour ago,

From when you were 15
And sky didn't matter
Because only pretty girls did.

Note how cumulus
Will be looking down
And naming what

Kind of human you're
Shaped like: mailman,
Archaeologist, student of rain.

On clear nights, rely on starlight.
Pentacles. Pulses.
Further proof of existence.”
― Ken Craft, Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems