there is sometimes nothing more
than enduring.
i keep my helmet on
when the city of my body is shelled.
the city which abundantly wants to love me
but can’t always.
the little bent cells
singing their discordant yet beautiful
songs.
-
Naomi Stenberg acutely relates to the story of Persephone. She has spent months and years underground, in the shadowy realm of depression, which can feel like hell. Three years ago, spring finally came. With a series of ECT treatments, she got undepressed. Felt like a just-sharpened pencil ready to engage not only with paper but with the world. She still has PTSD, bipolar and anxiety but now encounters frequent moments of harvest, of joy.
