ariv
writingjanuary 22, 2025

less in more

essays from liminal space

being

it’s exhausting to write
when i don’t want to
and even more difficult
when i do

life is filled
with an overwhelm of choice
and it’s a lot easier
to stay in my room

so i did that this week
retreating to my family home
spending more time living
than questioning why

and while doing so
engaged with the world
in a lighter way
without pressure

i met friends
old and awesome
i caught up with family
in a more relaxed way

this break was not planned
and as a result
there wasn’t enough time
to create expectations

thus i could live my life unbound
to the whims of my aching mind
and i could interface with my heart
free from moderation

i noticed tides and aversions
miracles in tiny moments
and a more intentional entertainer
who did less, and be-ed more

i felt deep melancholy and heartache
in short moments close to midnight
i felt tender compassion in the morning
and a sense that it was enough to be here

i watched the corners of my mouth
unfold into a sunny-side smile
broad, silly, and knowing
dancing in the daylight

i cavorted with my cousins
and conversed with my parents
i played golf with my brother
and was a kid again

i did all of this without many words
so as to allow myself to live
i did all of this without any expectations
there wasn’t enough time to form any

"i'll reclaim my story eventually"
i’d remind myself quietly
but for now i wanted feeling it
to be enough

i still do

-

freedom

a good friend recently told me
that she had stopped searching for more
and had, for the first time
sought after the opposite

she’s a fair bit older than i am
and can justify her present desires
with a colorful and successful past

i often wonder how
at twenty
i can explain
my longing for less

what have i done to earn my freedom?

-

zero shoes

my self-indulgent fantasy
is fulfilled daily
with food i never asked for
and friends who never asked for me

yet unbelievably pernicious
is the irony in my shoes
too heavy to step into
to tight to be shared

i inhale rainbows
and exhale binaries
i laugh a hollow laugh
and smile a shallow smile

i run in shoes without cushion
and chase problems in paradise
in hopes that solving them
will make me lighter

in one moment i’m self realized
in another, under the sea
i claim i’m a lucky creature
but i just want a girl to like me

so when it gets late on the coast
and my sneakers fill with sand
i leave behind my empty mind
and scour my heart for ideas

how much longer
can i run alone
before i fall off the bluff
and into the ocean?

how much longer
can i convince myself
i deserve all of this
without understanding why?

how much longer
will waking up be enough
if i keep falling asleep
standing up?

i’m not depressed

i’ve just got zero shoes
that you can borrow

-

here

it’s easier to need less
when i have more
than i could ever ask for
in your companionship

thank you for being here

-

more is coming soon :)

the original, on arivals.com