Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Sarah's avatar

Your newsletter is such a gift. I wake up every Sunday, make coffee, and sit down on the sofa to read it. Best part of my morning! I wish I could articulate what your writing means to me/gives to me.

Something in return: my favorite poem. Joel Stein’s “A Gift For You” from the Paris Review archives.

“I have a gift for you.

Please open it now

For inside you will find the words

To say when you are flustered

And stumbling around in the dark

Ruins of your confidence;

They will look like tumbled blocks

Of wood with big letters painted on.

Look further in this package

And you will find a dress

Which when you slip over your shoulders

Will fill your body with grace

And allow you to move easily

Through the party of dignitaries

And smile arrogantly but kindly

At their insipid advice;

And it will let you lounge

By the swimming pool of your heart

Where you can take a dip

And refresh yourself

Under the hard light of the world.

And there are some shoes for you

Which will make you light on your feet

And step quickly to a sudden tune

Of your own invention, run freely

Down crowded streets and catch all

The buses and taxis in the world.

And there is also a mirror for you

Which when looked into by only you

Will tell you your every mood.

How to alter slightly the afternoons

Of sudden downpours and feel better about yourself

When you aren't sure if you have talent or wit.

This mirror will relax all sneers

And will warn you of predators prowling

In the waters near the shore of well being.

And most of all it will always look

Back at you with more kindness

Than you can ever bestow upon the surface

Of its unfathomable world.”

Expand full comment
Irina Bonczok's avatar

I often feel I am not insightful enough to participate in the comment section... still the case, but popping up to say THANK YOU. Loving your work since the early MR days, and now enjoying a free subscription because #passionatebutbroke.

Your articles often help me to put words to """""strange""""" feelings, and I end up feeling less alone, which is sometehing just good to have in a regular dosis.

Enjoy the time off !

Expand full comment
25 more comments...

No posts