Episode Notes

Mikaela Brewer's reading this week focuses on the feelings of anxiety that aren't frequently spoken about. February 1st/2nd also marked the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, which is celebrated through many different cultural traditions.

This episode discusses how even with seasonal shifts—especially the long-awaited ones between winter and spring—anxiety doesn’t always dissipate. Further, I’ve stretched and re-shaped the old villanelle poetic form for this poem.

The villanelle, traditionally, offers a frame for struggling with establishing conversational tone and narrative possibility, reading in non-linear circles that resist telling a complete story. This form sounds and feels a lot like the experience of anxiety, and I hope the structure and words capture the mood, emotion, and memory, too. 

Here's an excerpt of the poem:

We talk about aching waking up, but without breathless sensitivity, tents pitched for toilets, and angry skin, soul, and stomach, unable to speak.

The eye of the storm must be halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox. Headache and dizziness. We don’t talk about aching with each type of waking. Listen to this week's episode to hear the full poem! If you’d like to share your moment or memory on the podcast, please head to tinyurl.com/bravingthewaves.

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