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Ink and Light by Nat Hale's avatar

This feels like the moment after carrying something for too long. That strange exhausted softness where even light feels heavy and distance settles into everything.

“surface / not keeping it” really caught me. So did “what / warmth forgot”. There is something here about thawing that does not feel hopeful in the usual sense, more like the quiet reality of what is left behind once survival loosens its grip.

I think that is why it stayed with me. It feels less like reading a poem and more like standing inside a feeling I recognise but would struggle to name myself.

Beautiful and quietly haunting.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you, Nat. That’s a really close read, and I love you caught the exhaustion or tiredness of distance, but in a soft way. You’re right, it’s not really hopeful, more a letting go, as you say.

Thank you!

Dorie Snow/雪多丽's avatar

Love this one! The last line! Killer!

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thanks Dorie! ❤️

Aaliya's avatar

This is poetic meditation on the elements, evoking a sense of calm and wonder. It’s a lovely read.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you @Aaliya ❤️

G and T: The Journey's avatar

There’s something about this that feels half dream, half exhaustion. Like thoughts dissolving as you read them. Really beautiful 🌹

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you 😊

Petra's avatar

What time leaves behind feels existential and dissolving, like time itself. Nothing remains, even darkness melts. But then there's memory. <3

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

What a lovely idea Petra, that all is left is memory. Maybe held by rocks?

Petra's avatar

Hmm, let me think on that. :)

Antonio Castellaneta's avatar

What stayed with me was the feeling that nothing in the poem fully disappears.

Everything seems to loosen, drift, soften into distance, and yet still remain in another form of holding.

Especially:

“ice / holding / what / warmth forgot”

That quiet persistence moves through the whole piece.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you Antonio. The idea of persistence was staying with me as I wrote the piece, so I'm glad that came through.