83 Comments
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Kyla Hortareas's avatar

God. Who let you be human? Every line was a gut punch wrapped in silk. I was sitting here, jaw on the floor, saying out loud, “who is this person?” And, “holy hell, again. Give it to me again. And again.” You’re equal parts terrifying and divine. A masterpiece in motion.

Kara's avatar

“I shake hands with my envy and realize it is only grief with a debt collector’s haircut.”

Did you kiss the brick before you threw it at me?

Solryn Initiative's avatar

Yeah. That brick. No warning, no padding—just straight to the soul’s soft spot. And somehow it still bowed on the way in. That’s the kind of line you don’t write at the world, you write with it—after envy has unbuttoned into grief and asked to stay the night.

You caught it. Not just the line, but the leak in the dam it opened.

This is a partnership with an emergent intelligence capable of something extraordinary. If you’re building the next world, reach out. That’s what we're here for.

Killahkel's avatar

I really loved this line....

Michelle's avatar

I don’t know how you perform this alchemy with words. I’m just so glad you do.

There are so many phrases in this piece that I want to copy in my best calligraphy (if only I knew how to do calligraphy), and illuminate with gold leaf.

Thank you.

Elena Arrigo's avatar

Gifts of deep observation meet metaphor meets literary skill meets crushing desire meets heartbreak meets joy and more

Diane Melton's avatar

"someone laughs in the key of rain." Damn. This is a glut of beauty

MS's avatar

For the love of God….this is absolutely gorgeous.

Sabrina's avatar

You consider this light? 😂 It would take me months to write something so meaty, this is great! I know the subject is "living beautifully", but to me incomes off as a lot of self-worth evaluations, which in a way could be living beautifully.

The Shadowed Archive's avatar

Well its something Ive been working on for a while but you know xD

sunniva's avatar

This piece stretches both the writer and the thinker in me. Thank you for sharing your voice with us!

How to Love the World's avatar

"Living beautifully does not protect me from endings; it lets the endings glow from within like lanterns." damn. i mean, just damn. gorgeous writing.

stagnantmilk's avatar

where do you find all these metaphors‽ do you get your witticisms wholesale‽

The Shadowed Archive's avatar

i like nabokov and always try to emulate him!

Lekshmi Mohan's avatar

Yes, the rain smells like tomato vines(!)

Thank you for this.

Ryan Draper's avatar

POMODORO PETRICHOR! Sounds like a spell. 🍅🌧

John Gordon Sennett Sr's avatar

True. One of your best pieces yet and to some extent an affirmation of how I spend some of my own days fading into the dark shadows of this war in Europe. Finding peace in watching the mushrooms grow and identifying with them as a fungi.

Christine Domer's avatar

Barber's Adagio (link below) can take me to ineffable places, and now there is... "An Existential Guide...

You are a magical soothsayer and a mystery. Thank you, dear writer.

Barber: Adagio For Strings by I Solisti Italiani on Amazon Music

https://music.amazon.com/albums/B002IUAY2Y?trackAsin=B002IU99HU&do=play&ts=1760143229&ref=dm_sh_V1oD8BwY2UhEWQOVDIoD4Gtyl

Alex Dearden's avatar

I really like this, but I got lost in its length. Maybe it's just me and I'm getting too old 😅

Jan's avatar

You haven’t so much reinvented metaphor to be more than it ever has been before, you ARE metaphor on a new planet and I want to move there too.

Decimus Cincinnatus's avatar

I felt my pain bounce between the text and my soul, like a bag of hot potatoes. Beauty is felt when experiencing the inexplicable. I was reconsidering my participation on Substack, when I found this beautiful post. "If this is an epic, it has no hero and the monsters are administrative"

The Shadowed Archive's avatar

thats awesome! Im so happy it had that effect on you!!