Ive Retired This Zine From Print But You Can Still Look At It Here - Take Care Of Yourself Idiot

From Backwater Sermons by Jay Hulme

#603 Time is Nature's Music

The past is a galaxy away,

But it circles through your brain.

Memories on shuffle, replaying every day.

A bop for the stars, a tune for the heart,

But a place that you can never be a part

Of ever again. It's in the past.

It's a tune, but rewritten harmonies won't last.

You cannot rewrite it.

So push skip.

The future is a massive river just a walk away.

Notes at your fingertips that will not stay

Cupped in your hands. You see, the river bends

And spins songs that could be

With a decent percussionist and melody.

The water travels everywhere and nowhere: Possibilities.

"What if's" and worrying can cause instability.

So push pause.

The present. That is something within reach.

You're climbing a mountain, with a goal to reach the peak.

Every rock, trail, and handhold is an instrument in waiting.

Except they are meant to be used, are up for the taking

For a poet and a player, a worker and a lover.

Because as much as you want, you cannot make another

Riff of the past. It's too far gone. And on record.

And the future is cold and not set in stone. So your method

To make the best music in life is stay strong.

Ground yourself in the moment, take a breath, and move on.

*takes your face gently in my hands and looks sincerely into your eyes* listen. your home does not need to look like a showroom. homes are meant to be lived in, and that means a certain amount of mess. it's okay if there is clutter on your desk or if you don't remember the last time you cleaned your oven. mess is morally neutral. but at the same time, you deserve to live in an environment that is safe and comfortable, and that means someone has to clean sometimes. things like mold, spoiled food, and dirty litter boxes are genuine health hazards and need to be dealt with before they make someone sick. think of cleaning less as "my home needs to be completely spotless" and more as "I am an animal and I need a habitat that is free of hazardous material." it's okay. *kisses you on the forehead and tucks you into a blanket*

(and of course it is always acceptable and even good for you to ask someone else to help you with cleaning if it's physically or mentally difficult for you. even if you're paying them to do it.)

something i have always found really weird is when english texts italicize words from other languages.

i remember reading a book as a kid and the author continually italicizing the word tamales

— natalie díaz, from “american arithmetic”, postcolonial love poem (via letsbelonelytogetherr)

im noticing that for a lot of americans “free palestine” has been an ideological motto and symbol rather than them actually believing in their heart that freedom is attainable and necessary

Bottlecap Press

It's Always This Beautiful, I Just Can't Always See It, by Codi Barbini

Prose poetry, chapbook, 36 pages, from Bottlecap Features. In It’s Always This Beautiful, I Just Can’t Always See It, gratitude becomes a me

From Codi Barbini's chapbook, It's Always This Beautiful, I Just Can't Always See It, available from Bottlecap Press!

first day in the time loop it is not a loop yet. i go about my day and its a pretty good day and when i make my evening cup of tea i wish all days were like this

Bottlecap Press

I Never Leave Lost Teeth Under My Pillow, by Lizzie Ferguson

Poetry, chapbook, 56 pages, from Bottlecap Features. Lizzie Ferguson’s first collected work is a challenge to the reader to embody different

From Lizzie Ferguson's chapbook, I Never Leave Lost Teeth Under My Pillow, available from Bottlecap Press!

transgender people. We need you before it's too late.