I remember winter mornings,
hallways hushed beneath buzzing lights,
my body moving slower than the day.
A sertraline sunrise -
small, familiar friend dissolving,
steady as snow in my veins.
An iced latte beside me,
cold against the season,
sweetness marking the hours
while my mind floated, empty,
dissociated from everything around me.
Exhaustion draped over my shoulders,
full of feelings I couldn’t name,
each lesson a blur of ink and drifting shadows -
yet even then,
there was a quiet beauty
in showing up,
in carrying the weight
until the bell let me go.
- JJ