Angie Hedman
The Fall of Aleppo
Why is all of my poetry so goddamn
depressing
when I am lucky to have the gift of breath at all?
I have
gratitude for Tuesdays gratitude for sea horses gratitude for brioche gratitude for boredom gratitude for oxytocin gratitude for cannabis gratitude for kittens gratitude for peace
I watched the fall of Aleppo.
I heard the children screaming.
I know how bad things can get.
Shit, I did not intend this poem to be
depressing
again.
There is
joy in Christmas joy in motherhood joy in amusement parks joy in dancing joy in culture joy in childbirth joy in safety joy in orgasms joy in elementary school band concerts joy in the ocean
My lack of serotonin is not my fault.
I do not deserve the shame.
I’m glad all the Jack and all those pills
did not end up working.
I know
Life is empowerment life is beautiful life is darkness life is love life is fear life is laughter life is envy life is risk life is luck life is drive life is light life is agony life is precious life is to flourish
It is glorious;
the luxury of consciousness and conscience.
And I guess this one really isn’t that
depressing
after all.
Shannon Frost Greenstein (she/her) resides in Philadelphia with her children, soulmate, and persnickety cats. She is the author of Pray for Us Sinners, a collection of fiction from Alien Buddha Press, and More, a poetry collection by Wild Pressed Books. Shannon is aformer Ph.D. candidate in Continental Philosophy and a multi-time Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Pithead Chapel, X-R-A-Y Lit Mag, Collective Realms, and elsewhere. Follow Shannon at shannonfrostgreenstein.com or on Twitter at @ShannonFrostGre.
Angie Hedman is an artist, writer, and middle school art educator who creates and resides in the great Midwest of Muncie, IN. She holds degrees from Ball State University in the areas of Fine Arts (Metals), and Art Education. Her work has been published, or is forthcoming in Cream City Review, Superstition Review, Montana Mouthful, Spectrum Literary Journal, The Sandy River Review, and Patchwork Lit Mag among others. When she isn’t writing, creating, teaching, or doing family things, she enjoys snuggling with her orange tabby cat, Colby-Jack. She tweets at @artist_writerAH.