I bought peanut butter today. Buying peanut butter is nothing new.I love the sticky smooth feeling as it moves through my mouth, The way it lingers a moment longer than I might want it to, how that takes me backTo memories of beach parties with my big brother, how I proudly made lunch for him:two…
Tag: Erika
Why 30 Days? Why 30 Poems? Because April is the Cruelest Month
As we look back on our recently concluded 30 Days, 30 Poems Project celebrating National Poetry Month and continue to mark Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we are sharing this piece today, about the intersection between the two. If you are in the US and need urgent mental health assistance, you can call, text…
“When the Future Appears”
Remember, the time of year when the future appears like a blank sheet of paper -Jackie Kay “Promise” “Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes…” -Rent “Seasons of Love” Theater kids, or at least theater kids of a certain age know exactly how much time that is. Maybe you know even if you weren’t…
Bi+ Visibility 2023
Note: A lot of language surrounding gender is new. These words/ideas have been around for years but it’s only in the last decade or so that the singular “they” and the idea of gender as a spectrum have entered the public consciousness. You’ll see a lot of the outdated style of language in this piece,…
Disability Wrath Month
July is Disability Pride Month. And I could write some empowering piece about how I make my life work even though fibromyalgia and I’ve got all these things that don’t work in the ways bodies and brains typically do and rah rah rah. I know how to write about Pride. I’ve done plenty of it,…
Coming out versus Letting In
It’s the end of Pride Month. Usually I’m overflowing with words about queer topics, especially in June. I had a year of queer rage in 2022. And 2023 has me filled with even more rage. And yet this month, when I should have been able to say something I’ve had trouble saying anything. Every time I…
Pride is for… ?
I began June not with celebration, but with tears. “Happy” Pride, right? Who the fuck thought I would be watching a TV show with a character who was wearing overalls and I would absolutely breakdown in tears? And now, I’m alternating between writing and ugly crying. And the makeup I put on earlier today is a mess…
Catching Up With Poetry
Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? We did. And we’ve been celebrating it joyfully as part of our annual 30 Days, 30 Poems project. Oh So That’s Where You’ve Been All Month. But Why? We love poetry here. It’s no secret. We know there’s something magical about finding a poem that feels…
I’m Officially Disabled Now; Where’s my Prize?
Update on the Sydney Beers Story–Remember? The Wheelchair being Pushed Down the Stairs? Anyone? I really don’t follow hockey. Definitely not NCAA hockey. But Carson Briere’s name has popped up on my various news notifications for the last month or so, ever since the wheelchair incident. So I saw the news that he’d been removed…
National Poetry Month 2023: Introducing 30 Days, 30 Poems
(Some thoughts about poetry from Erika, on behalf of, and with input from, the 2 Rules team.) More Inspiring: Cute Boys or a Great Film? The movie Dead Poets Society came out when I was fourteen. I didn’t have a chance to see it before leaving for summer camp, but my mother and a friend…