Loose Words Letter #73
Darkness
Welcome to the weekly newsletter from Loose Words. These letters go out every Thursday and highlight many of our published poems from the past week. Loose Words is a poetry publication brought to you by Assemblage to capture disconnected thoughts and let them find their form.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Each week, we will post a few lines from each featured poem (all friend links so anyone can read them) to give you a preview of the whole. We encourage you to read the full version by clicking in and taking that minute. A one-minute read could change your day.
Featured Poet
Each week we feature one of our contributing poets at Loose Words on our homepage and in this letter. This week it is Megan Minutillo. Megan writes essays and poetry about life lessons, love, relationships, and self-awareness.
Collection
Collections are groupings of poems with an overall theme. You can find Collections on the homepage underneath the Featured Poems, Notes From the Editor, and Featured Poet sections.
Darkness features 6 poems from 6 different poets from our archives. This section is a great way to get acquainted with multiple works around one theme, as well as to find poets you haven’t read before, or ones you shouldn’t miss.
Darkness features loose words from Wild Flower, Jonathan Greene, T.S. Narkissa Luna, Connie Song, Fọlábòmí Àmọ̀ó, and Zachary Phillips.
Selected Loose Words From Last Week
All I Can See Is Your Breathing by Trapper Markelz
“my skin folds into a fist, pounds the table
in rhythmic applause because today
is a petulant world with eyes rising
to realize: those are sails on a ship,”
Walk Into the Darkness by Jonathan Greene
“Sometimes I want to
walk into the darkness
and let it bathe me
in nightfall and charcoal
so I can cleanse the light
that made me so hopeful”
Pain Is Not A Competition by Megan Minutillo
“When we listen and when we help,
we’re tipping the scales of sadness,
and infusing pleasure into the depths of pain,
and filling the arid lands of sorrow
with oceans of joy.”
Highlighted Past Poems
To the Color of Your Mouth by Lisa Alletson
“how black sky
churns us
soots us
birds flee
wind hot / gone”
Thoughts from Beyond my Suffering by Blithe Anderson
“It’s free of the prison
Of humanity’s constructs
It holds you in its infinite hand
Observes itself like a child
Looks upon a butterfly:
Catch and release
Wonder”
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” — Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Can you find the light within?
