September 28th, 2021
how to keep going
After Amy Kay
listen to the songs you loved in the eighth grade. cry about all the things you miss and miss being.
listen to the songs you loved in the ninth grade to remind yourself of who used to be. look how far you’ve come.
if all you can do right now is breathe, breathe in a different room in your house. take your blanket with you.
try to think of the little things. the lingering smell of rain. the trees regaining leaves. gardens regaining colour. the sun creeping in through the blinds. the softness of your sheets. the malleability of your pillow. the birthday cards you kept. the first time you thought you knew what love was, the first time you realized how silly you were to think that was love. the last time you ate your favourite foods and the people you ate them with. the last time you made your loved ones laugh.
start small, start with snacks. eat when you think you can. only eat what you feel you can.
tell a friend you miss them. make impossible plans to travel the world and live together one day.
make art because you are angry and want to make a mess. make art because you are sad and need something to do with your hands. make art and let it be bad. make art only if it will be ugly.
start a new playlist of all the songs you have ever known and liked. this is the unending soundtrack to your life. there are many more songs to experience.
learn to cook that thing you’re craving. remake it over and over again until it tastes the way you like it.
all the things you love about others are in you too. find them.
Iqra Abid (she/her) is a young, Pakistani, Muslim writer based in Ontario, Canada. She is currently an undergraduate student studying psychology, neuroscience and behavior. She is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Kiwi Collective. Her work can be found in various publications such as Changing Womxn Collective, Scorpion Magazine, Tiny Spoon Lit Magazine, and others. The poem "how to keep going" was inspired by a prompt by Amy Kay during #NaPoWriMo.
