To Fall Is to Begin

Irina Vérène

i won’t be dragged

past the pearly gates—

i’ll leave of my own volition.

with these heavenly rules

stifling my breath,

i must say,

it seems a wise decision.

amidst the flames

and the curling smoke,

i shall rise anew—

after all,

a fall from heaven,

a descent to hell,

is a baptism, too.

More from Irina Vérène ↓

1. @queen_of_gore on Instagram
2. They are featured in Haunted Words Press' anthology, Our Dearest Devotions, which contains their flash fiction piece about friendship, fae magic, and gender transition.

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO