Rebecca Wood

Rebecca Wood lives with her plants and craft supplies in Toronto, Canada. Her work can be found in Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, The Blood Project and Pinhole Poetry. She delights in writing as a playful exploration of what it means to exist in a body with multiple chronic illnesses.

Easy read of the poems in the images above:

Language of Alone

I am fluent in the language of solitude
Decoding the symbology of aloneness
Reading the reference texts of connection
Cross-checking my invention of loneliness against
cultural communication of alone
Attempting to speak in such a way that solo does not mean
Isolated

A tricky language to learn
Slippery syntax
Surprise slides into utterance of sadness
The grammar of alone but not lonely
Semiotics of physical seclusion alongside
etymology of emotionally connected
Expression of need
Voicing vulnerable vernacular
Signs and signification of “by myself”
Pronunciation of “unattached”

Multiple derivations of meaning
Meaning, a synonym of significance
Value
Worth
I, solo, sort the spaces of silence
sound
prosody
articulation and inflection
Subtle linguistic evolution of self-talk
Voice and intonation unheard
And what will be the connotation of my fluency
my diction
my phraseology
if anyone hears me?

The Messes are Mine

This is how I clean
prioritizing processes
triaging these surfaces
that demand attention
covered in dust
and wreckage of wrappers
tripping hazards on my floor
books and worn clothes

and because I live alone
and because the messes are mine
I strategize
the tools
the time
the energy
the executive function
identifying which moments are for mess

I notice the need
a vacuum
a wipe
and I notice
and I notice
and I notice

of course it would be better
if I didn’t make the messes in the first place
but my existence is messy

of course it would be better
if I cleaned up right away
but urgency can be impossible

I let go of the self-criticism
and I let go
and I let go
and I let go

These are the dishes that do not stop
because I also need to prepare the food
that I need to eat
to sustain the energy
that I need to maintain
the space I fill alone

And the messes are mine
so I rank their importance
a hierarchy of hazards
as I move through my home
with a cloth and a knowing
better is good enough