I will not allow myself to be overwhelmed. I will not break my body to fit the boxes of my to-do list that crawls from diary page to diary page. I will not sink into the blue halo of the monitor from the tight latch of emails that echo endlessly with passive-aggressive follow-ups & empty hopes that it finds you well & cruel deadlines that drain the glitter from my veins. I will learn the beauty of the word ‘no.’ I will rip out the guilt from my chest as I lie upon the soft kiss of my pillow knowing that the sun has set and that there is life beyond the rectangle of my work desk that awaits me in my kitchen, in my bathroom, in my garden, in your arms, in deep slumber, repeating: I will get through this. I will get through this. I will get through this.
