this week’s Thought (singular)
writing with pen on paper was so nice, we should start doing that again. or stop stopping that once we leave school. somebody give me something to write
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hi
i came across the phrase ‘lèche-vitrine’ in this issue of
(highly recommend). it means ‘window shopping’, but delightfully directly translates to window licking.to be so outside-looking-in that you’re pressed right up to the glass, nose pressed up against it, tongue out. it’s a disgusting thought, i’ll be honest, but the imagery and impact of it is incredible. the conveyance of desperation, of absolute craving - it’s a magnificent phrase. of wanting something so bad that you’re braced to receive it, whether it’s coming your way or not. yearning for it to come your way.
the discovery of lèche-vitrine (which sounds like it should mean a litchi-based dessert) has made me want to discover more phrases in other languages whose direct english translation is absolutely incredible. visceral and eloquent in a way the english meaning simply isn’t. if you know of any, please share them with me.
English Recitation Competition
The Unbroken, Rashani Rea
There is a brokenness out of which comes the unbroken, a shatteredness out of which blooms the unshatterable. There is a sorrow beyond all grief which leads to joy and a fragility out of whose depths emerges strength. There is a hollow space too vast for words through which we pass with each loss, out of whose darkness we are sanctioned into being. There is a cry deeper than all sound whose serrated edges cut the heart as we break open to the place inside which is unbreakable and whole while learning to sing.
Throwing Children, Ross Gay
It is really something when a kid who has a hard time becomes a kid who’s having a good time in no small part thanks to you throwing that kid in the air again and again on a mile long walk home from the Indian joint as her mom looks sideways at you like you don’t need to keep doing this because you’re pouring with sweat and breathing a little bit now you’re getting a good workout but because the kid laughs like a horse up there laughs like a kangaroo beating her wings against the light because she laughs like a happy little kid and when coming down and grabbing your forearm to brace herself for the time when you will drop her which you don’t and slides her hand into yours as she says for the fortieth time the fiftieth time inexhaustible her delight again again again and again and you say give me til the redbud tree or give me til the persimmon tree because she knows the trees and so quiet you almost can’t hear through her giggles she says ok til the next tree when she explodes howling yanking your arm from the socket again again all the wolves and mourning doves flying from her tiny throat and you throw her so high she lives up there in the tree for a minute she notices the ants organizing on the bark and a bumblebee carousing the little unripe persimmon in its beret she laughs and laughs as she hovers up there like a bumblebee like a hummingbird up there giggling in the light like a giddy little girl up there the world knows how to love.
Imperatives for Carrying On in the Aftermath, Natasha Trethewey
Remember you were told, by your famous professor, that you should write about something else, unburden yourself of the death of your mother and just pour your heart out in the poems. Ask yourself what's in your heart, that reliquary—blood locket and seedbed—and contend with what it means, the folk saying you learned from a Korean poet in Seoul: that one does not bury the mother's body in the ground but in the chest, or—like you — you carry her corpse on your back.
The Good Side of the Internet
Pictures are the eyes of the face from
(comics)In the Sundarbans, a mother and daughter’s lives are circumscribed by the weather, poverty and social control. They’re trying to break the cycle.
fridge poetry (interactive)
2023 Intentions (super late, but still relevant)
My birthday and the new year coincide which always results in a reflection tornado. Here goes:
Our Business Is Killing (tw: death of a pet)
I never understood why veterinarians are at such a high risk of suicide. Until I became one.
A Picture!
this week’s Song
find all shared songs here.
thank you for reading, and see you next week <3
yes? no? maybe? let me know!
hello, thank you for lovely read as always :) I'm studying Korean and I learnt that window shopping is called 아이쇼핑 which translates to eye shopping!