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Today, I Rest
Shanta Dickerson

Today, I slept until 1pm.

Don’t worry — it’s not depression.

Sadness naps, I used to call them.

It seems I’m free of that regression

for now.

Never say forever.

Wrapping matters in bubbles of forever isn’t how

my mental health gets better.

No, today I slept in late

because it felt magnificent. Because I could.

No sense of guilt for time wasted.

No crushing weight of “should.”

Just of mug of afternoon coffee to celebrate life’s glorious imperfection

and a lightness of mind: I am satisfied. This needs no further dissection.

—
Shanta Dickerson is now a published poet, thanks to Abandoned Mine! She’s a senior at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus in Overland Park, KS, completing a degree in Literature, Language, and Writing and a minor in Public Administration. She enjoys the usual writing and reading sorts of things and dedicates Saturday nights to watching horror movies with her husband, and a cat or two, should they care to join the fun.

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Have you read these poems:
Planetarium of Love by John Surowiecki
I Know Howl by Richard Eric Johnson

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