Decentering the madness

Trying to maintain a sliver of normalcy

Dear Followers (all 9 of you… thank you… and also anyone else who wants to come on board),

I wanted to take a moment to share my inner workings with you. When I started this Substack only a few months ago, my thinking was that I could share some of my poetry and post observations, perhaps tell a story or two. I am an opera singer and voice teacher and I already have social media elsewhere for all that (ask me if you’re interested… I can share those sites). I may occasionally post some of that content here as well, since it is such a large part of my life, but my thought was that this could be my “other” feed. Somewhere to allow other parts of my psyche to roam free.

But as I read through everyone else’s Substacks (so many very informative and brilliant writers), I am left wondering if the only thing anyone is writing about is the current state of affairs. Wait! Before you scream “but the world is on fire so of course that’s what’s on everyone’s mind!” allow me to continue. It is very much on my mind as well. I am suffering and reading and watching and worrying and not sleeping and all the rest of it with all of you. It is all so very worrisome.

But perhaps my quiet form of rebellion is to keep my eye on the mundane - as boring as that might seem. I would like to keep sharing poetry about the inner workings of our souls and stories about the peripheral aspects of the life that is unfolding before our eyes. A kind of “decentering the insanity”. Trust me when I say it is not easy to do. I find myself wanting to create dark poems and go off on tangents. I believe I have posted a couple of dark ones already. There will likely be many more since I am a sensitive being. I wish to continue posting about the effects this is having on us as individuals and as a collective. The price we are exacting on a psychological and soul level.

What I do know is this. I prefer to not call my monsters by name nor give them any more notoriety by repeating their offenses. I feel it’s like repeating Beetlejuice too many times. I don’t want to chance it. Luckily, plenty of reputable and knowledgable and brave sources are taking on this task. I thank them for their work. I read it all voraciously. I don’t feel pressure to add my views. They’re already doing a great job. People like V Spehar, Mary Trump and Robert Reich… comedians like John Oliver, Josh Johnson and Jon Stewart are my greatest sources of information, satire and comfort.

All I want to do is reach into the darkness and occasionally mirror it or find a speck of light and magnify it. Consider me a source for the inner minutiae we are all battling. I feel that is where my voice currently is most comfortable. So if I am not screaming about the latest dark plot, do not mistake that for lack of care. I am merely soaking it all up to then add my creative spin from my teeny tiny platform.

Thanks for being here. We are all in this together.

Best wishes,

Poetry Singer