Frances

Aspiring poet + writer.

[saintfrancesworld]

INTRODUCTION TO A DISABILITY ESSAY THAT I WILL PROBABLY NEVER FINISH:

You know, I was healthy my whole life—until I wasn’t. But I suppose that’s how all our hurts have to start: somewhere. For me, and those not unlike me, it was a cut. A slicing of sorts. A snipping through the fabric of already loosely sewn teenage reality. Until a line shred its way through as straight as a perfectly aimed arrow—and just as bloody—forming the formidable dams of my memory. Henceforth, the watercolor quiet of before —and then, of course, the irascible after. Such is the plight of the chronically ill, the burdensome, the non-contagious owners of diseased bodies. Ours is a collective: before and after.

[saintfrancesworld]

My completed prose piece, titled “THE MOST COMMON SYMPTOM IS PAIN,” is now available to read free online and available for purchase in physical print in Contemporary Jo’s Issue VI! 🤍

[saintfrancesworld]

Poetry Books That Are Dear To Me:

• “Lucky Wreck” by Ada Limón.

• “Sharks in The Rivers” by Ada Limón.

• “Bright Dead Things” by Ada Limón.

• “The Carrying” by Ada Limón.

• “The Hurting Kind” by Ada Limón.

• “Ariel: The Restored Edition” by Sylvia Plath.

• “Crush” by Richard Siken.

• “War of the Foxes” by Richard Siken.

• “Deaf Republic” by Ilya Kaminsky.

• “Later Poems: Selected and New: 1971-2012” by Adrienne Rich.

• “Selected Poems” by Denise Levertov.

• “Poems 1962-2012” by Louise Glück.

[saintfrancesworld]

Does…anyone else who suffers from depression and anxiety ever wonder what would happen if they just decided to be ridiculously brave with their lives? Endlessly unapologetic? Even for only thirty insane seconds once a week?

Or is this just my thing?

[saintfrancesworld]

Currently filled with a strange and envious longing of those who are fluent in more than one language, who can read and write poetry in more than one language.

(Spanish is calling to me. I will answer.)

[saintfrancesworld]

GOD IS A GUN

by Frances L.

Mid-day tears of soy-sauce sweat

slinking down

my forehead. The fidgeting wisp of a

baby pink

birthday dress—

It is summer. I don’t know what to do with my hands.

I never know what to do

with my hands. Except maybe

devour.

They exclaim, “Happy 23rd!” the day after

the day after.

And my laugh, bitter as nightshade.

And my head,

still a haunted house! Even in these brights!

But I come alive now

and I don’t ever

stop. It’s a county fair occasion.

Remember: No goldfish this time ‘round! No winning.

I sigh. I look down.

I sigh again. I look around.

I have schemes and no friends. Not really.

But I? I would like to be the westward expanse;

the ugly foreign beauty tilting off the edge of the known world.

And I could be swimming somewhere,

an emancipated fair fish, a slash of defiant orange.

But I’m not.

I’m not.

I’ll watch the others glide past instead

and swell.

How do I look? they ask.

I think: The depression is always back and I’m beginning to fear it’s all I’m good at.

I think: God is a gun pressed to the back of my neck.

You look fantastic, by the way.

(Only dead fish go with the flow.)

I glared with hag stones held up to my eyes. Nothing.

My mouth stings, by the way.

(Only dead fish go with the flow.)

But this? This

isn’t a squirt-gun game anymore. It’s

Russian roulette now, carving out

the hollowness.

I like it! My fingers already

sticky.

All right, I hate hypotheticals. Pull the trigger.

[saintfrancesworld]

PANTONE’S COLOR OF THE YEAR: 2024

“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance. A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.” – Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute™

[saintfrancesworld]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by John Green (@johngreenwritesbooks)

johngreenwritesbooks:

New Pantone color just dropped. Tell @pantone and their parent company @danahercorporation that we will not accept Danaher overcharging the world's poorest people for tuberculosis tests. Millions of people need accurate, reliable, affordable tests. Danaher makes them! Thank you! But they cost far too much, so every year 4,000,000 people with TB go undiagnosed, and 1,600,000 people die. Unacceptable! We're paying attention, Danaher--and the pressure will only escalate until you stop price-gouging the world's poorest communities.

[saintfrancesworld]

MONEY COIN POUCHES (camimonet.com). Which one do you need? 💰

[saintfrancesworld]

Who’s doing it with me?!

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Has anyone on this site who has sent a letter heard back from Halsey/Ashley yet?! 🕷️

[saintfrancesworld]

Drop your best poetry book recommendations down below, please! ⤵️

[saintfrancesworld]

Video Essays I Appreciate:

• Influencers are a Plague

• MAKEUP & MISFORTUNE: Elizabeth Short | The Black Dahlia

• Candace Owens REACTS to Eugenia Cooney

• The Sickening Impact of Social Media

• The Islamic Roots of Hamas (w/ David Wood)

• The Real Life Blip

• GEN Z IS THE MOST MISERABLE GENERATION EVER. HERE’S WHY.

(Note: Even if you don’t agree with everything said in these videos, or perhaps the angle the essayist takes, I would just say that these are really fleshed out arguments. I also personally found these videos fascinating. If you disagree, that’s fine! That’s great! But if you you are going to be angry or hateful toward any point of view, perhaps you should first strengthen your position. Emotions aren’t intellectually superior: Don’t confuse your sensitivity for goodness! TRIGGER WARNING! YOU HAVE BEEN FOREWARNED!)

[saintfrancesworld]

Video Essays I Appreciate (PART TWO):

• The Viral Makeup Cult | SEINT

• Stop buying babies.

• The TRUTH About The War & Islam They’re Hiding (w/ Robert Spencer)

• China will Invade Taiwan

• The Dark Truth of SHEIN: TikTok’s TOXIC Obsession EXPOSED | Downfall

[saintfrancesworld]

PANTONE’S COLOR OF THE YEAR: 2024

“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance. A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.” – Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute™

[saintfrancesworld]

ENLIGHTEN ME: What’s on your MUST-READ list for 2024?

[saintfrancesworld]

INTRODUCTION TO A DISABILITY ESSAY THAT I WILL PROBABLY NEVER FINISH:

You know, I was healthy my whole life—until I wasn’t. But I suppose that’s how all our hurts have to start: somewhere. For me, and those not unlike me, it was a cut. A slicing of sorts. A snipping through the fabric of already loosely sewn teenage reality. Until a line shred its way through as straight as a perfectly aimed arrow—and just as bloody—forming the formidable dams of my memory. Henceforth, the watercolor quiet of before —and then, of course, the irascible after. Such is the plight of the chronically ill, the burdensome, the non-contagious owners of diseased bodies. Ours is a collective: before and after.

[saintfrancesworld]

Who’s doing it with me?!

[saintfrancesworld]

POETRY BOOK REVIEW:

Let me be perfectly clear: you should read this book. I give it five out of five stars—and that’s with Goodreads as my witness!

“Winterbrook” had a complex conceptual theme to tackle: childhood with all its aches, pains, traumas, joys, and triumphs. And what a show-stopping job Haley Hendrick has done with it in her debut poetry collection!

Bold in its originality and execution, this book seamlessly mixes the art of her collages (made from personal photographs) with her poetry. These poems transport you to a different time and place. It is so easy to imagine you are little Haley’s ghost-friend, invisible but invited, bearing witness to her childhood. Truly, it strikes a chord with one’s heart. And if not a chord along with the author and artist herself, then for each of us in own personal childhood experiences.

I will continue to carry these poems—with all their sweetness and wisdom—close to my heart as we all continue growing up!

I hope Haley never stops creating!

(Follow Haley on Tumblr here: @haleyincarnate! And make sure to get your copy of “Winterbrook” from Amazon when you can! She is the next big thing!)

[saintfrancesworld]

ON LIVING:

1. “Steady Yourself” by Jewel Kilcher, from A Night Without Armor // 2. Haruki Murakami, from Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (via @quotespile)

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ON LIVING (PART TWO):

3. “WITH GREAR POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY” by Halsey, from I would leave me if I could. // 4. “My Dead Friends” by Marie Howe (via @letterful) //5. “Nothing’s a Gift” by Wislawa Szymborska, View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems (via @weltenwellen)

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ON FEMALE BEAUTY:

1. “Pretty” by Jewel Kilcher, from A Night Without Armor // 2. “pretty isn’t pretty” – Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS // 3. “The Lucky One” – Taylor Swift, RED (Taylor’s Version) // 4. “jealousy, jealously” – Olivia Rodrigo, SOUR // 5. “Body Dysmorphia Disorder” by Shawn Cross // 6. “Nightmare” – Halsey, If I can’t have love, I want power (Deluxe Edition) // 7. “Pretty Hurts” – Beyoncé, Beyoncé // 8. “Mrs. Potato Head” – Melanie Martinez, Cry Baby