This isn't a poem but I just had a thought, there's a few people out there that read my stuff and I've had some pretty intense conversations with people on poetry websites. I always see these places as a sanctuary where I can express myself openly, pour out my heart and soul for people to see. Normally I filter which things I show certain people but you guys are mostly all in the same boat. We open ourselves up and try to make things, including our pain, look as beautiful and delicate as we possibly can. It's an art that's extremely close to home for most of us. I'm glad these communities have been made because when I do message poets there's no small talk or *******. It jumps straight to the point and we share even deeper parts of ourselves and our experiences because this is a place where we've already taken off the masks and shared ourselves with others. It's spectacular, there's not many other places where you can be so comfortably yourself with others, because here you just need to take a moment to look at their work and see if they're in the same boat. It's a shortcut of sorts to the person's soul.

This ended up being much longer than I'd anticipated but it's something that I always hold close to my heart. I came on here to say that I hope everyone's doing okay and trying their best to find even the smallest ray of light each day, especially if they're having a hard time. You're all super brave for expressing yourselves on here, or if you're just doing it to be creative good on you too because you don't know how many people might connect with your words. Keep doing what you're doing and be kind to yourselves as well as other people.

Just a little message for you guys,
Leila :)