I came to poetry privately, as a way to process what I couldn't say out loud. As Christian nationalism got louder, I realized something that changed everything for me. It didn't matter whether I believed anymore. People in power were going to use religion to control us regardless. Once Roe v. Wade was overturned, it stopped being abstract.
I'm only one person, but if I can plant a seed of doubt in someone's certainty, or remind someone already doubting that they're not alone, that is worth something.
My work comes from that tension between fear and clarity, and from what I couldn't stop noticing once I started paying attention. How much of what happens to women gets called ordinary, mistaken for safety, or blamed on the woman herself, until someone finally says it plainly.
If you're in the middle of leaving something behind, a faith, a certainty, a relationship, or an old version of yourself that kept you small, I know it can feel like stepping into open air with no safety net.
It's terrifying. It's also worth it.
