Photography © Glenn Bowie

give it all up / this modern melancholy

I saw you twenty times this morning
a mirage, I’m only dreaming
I’m teething on this solitude
growing up taller than the empty mailbox
the world apparently didn’t want me to make.
I can’t carry the weight of nothing
for much longer, I’m afraid
now I close my eyes and call it release
but I’m not sure I can remember to believe that and
I’m not sure I can tighten my grip or
dig in that much deeper
there are limits to letting go, you know
I left my red pants in california
along with the last good laugh of the year.
if I had known I’d have made it louder
would have crowned myself the doer of all
and then done it like I said I would
this modern melancholy is biting my cheeks
a slap of reality (for the love of anything, leave it at the door)
it is the dripping blood on the dishes
and I can’t tell the difference between sorrow and soap
or today and tomorrow (it’s all mixed in to the suds)

Claire Richards is a twenty year old artist and poet based in Los Angeles, California. She is currently pursuing her BFA in photography from California Institute of the Arts. Whether in a visual or written form, she focuses on the feeling of liminality and makes work seeking out a place in the world.

Glenn Bowie is a published poet, lyricist and photographer from the Boston area. He also owns and operates an elevator company that supplies custom-built elevators for clients from New England to Hollywood. Author of two poetry and photograph collections (Under the Weight of Whispers and Into the Thorns and Honey) on Big Table Publishing, he donates all profits from his books to various charities for the homeless and local animal shelters.