PhantomLamb

I have never seen extreme order preach happiness. Not in my life. Not in the life of others. Yet. Since childhood, I have been trained up in perfectionism.

The first loves will make you want to become a poet. The last loves will remind you, you are the poet.

Happy snow moon, everyone! Boy, is that snow bright . . . and deep . . . and cold. In one more moon will be #64, the worm moon issue, and we're still accepting work for #65 under the blue moon.

gonelawn.net/journal/glj_...

As with anything else, I am aware
the way I speak lays down
the disharmony of doves. I am aware
the world might not receive me,
or how I’ve struck.

Trying to experiment with a new logo. Second photo is the doodle I started with. The overlaid pattern is from packaging I kept. Adjusted with phone camera

Poetry in the Interim Announcements, Poem, Editor's Note

open.substack.com/pub/ceaseand...

2. i am not angry
but done,
like a speech
as an ephemera
that catches
a heart,
a coat,
a hand
holding a string,
a string holding a kite
that catches
and catches
until the branches
are sore with where
the gone has gone.

thank you for the slaughter

1. gutted, gurneyed, then flown
as a crow-sick eulogy
that leaves notes
on the inner lining
of your suede gloves
that turn this way
and that way
with the infinity
of slim wrists
so delicate
they might as well
spell euphoria.

I don’t expect people to be loyal to me. But I have been emotionally abused, abandoned, cheated on, lied to, invalidated, gaslit, manipulated, taken advantage of, failed by systems made to help me. I find the social impossible to navigate for that reason. I don’t know if the shadow is a shadow

Poem on the contemporary and widespread flattening effect.

ICE murdered Renée Good in broad daylight. Less than 3 weeks later, they killed Alex Pretti, shooting him 10 times. Every day, we watch as people are ripped from their cars, their homes, their lives.

We can't allow ourselves to look away from this cruelty. Abolish ICE.

I don’t recommend any articles with titles that say “this list of things will make you a writer.” Nothing will make you a writer other than doing the work of reading and writing. There are no other mystical habits one must acquire to be a writer.

That being said, I don’t think this is a time to worry so much about what is the perfect presentation, but to keep going and supporting the people who need support. Because it was never about us to begin with. It is about standing up for what should be a given: the rights of and for all people.

I don’t post as much because I know a lot has already been said. For some people, this has sadly been life as they know it long before all this. Sometimes it feels hollow to just say things, but I also don’t want to stand down or tolerate what’s happening.

This point in time is weird because we need to grieve, but we also need to keep going at the same time. It’s difficult to juggle survival with the need to grieve, but a lot of people who needed to grieve have been forced into survival mode by the system. They’ve been doing this longer than us.

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Zine submission call benefitting their ICE rapid response team in MN. Deadline February 10th. Let's go. 🤘

#writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #fafo #resist #protest

bio.site/fortunamajor...

Poem on being disillusioned.

Continued poem.

Some poetry in the interim. TikTok got weird with its change in service agreement / ownership, and my account got banned.

We the Living Document: No Winters for Diversity First Call for Collaborative Project Series

I don’t want to spam people, but does anyone want to be a part of this creative community project?

Looking for writers, poets, and visual artists.

open.substack.com/pub/ceaseand...

We the Living Document: No Winters for Diversity First Call for Collaborative Project Series

Please email me at ceaseandcaesura@gmail.com if you are interested.

open.substack.com/pub/ceaseand...

Language as concept stacks.

Poem continued.

Our Editor, Kolby Granville, has done a ton of podcasts talking about After Dinner Conversation. Here is a partial list link. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to interview him about running a #philosophy #ethics #shortstory #literary magazine!

buff.ly/qAFX3qR

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

Tentative Plans for Cease and Caesura Lit Starting in February

open.substack.com/pub/ceaseand...

Poem about wrestling against yourself and what you think you know.

Poem continued.

I feel like the problem with how I grew up, how many children grow up in this world, is that we aren’t told the full extent of what we should know, but the version of someone else’s truth. As an adult, I feel like I have to unlearn so many things in order to learn what I should have a known.

We're reopening submissions at Gone Lawn. Same old thing, you know what we like & you've got it.

& as always (not to be judged!), please consider a donation to keep a struggling mag afloat, if you can. Bad times, bad times.

And come the next full moon, dance under it!

gonelawn.net/journal/glj_...

I would actually argue it’s good that your post went viral. Because it means the shift in perspective on the importance of going viral is happening. While it seems like a contradiction, it means the desire for viral content is waning. It’s good. Not bad. :)

Please don’t use suicide as a part of your argument against fascism. Many people who struggle with mental health issues who aren’t fascist will be impacted by rhetorics that misuse psychology. Suicide happens for many reasons. There is already a rampant misuse of psychology in mainstream media.

My biggest grief over this world is what people think is new is one ugly iteration after another with a new face, a new aesthetic, a new civilization, etc. I feel the rot of cycles, perennial rot.

We might be a lit journal, but we're also human. I don't like to pretend saying a few words online is revolutionary when the root is deeply systemic. We don't have funding, but we want to support any action oriented organizations, groups, artists, etc. any way we can.