This poem went viral on Instagram last week, but when I first wrote it, I pretty much dismissed it. It felt too quiet and unassuming to share on Instagram. In my experience, the algorithm rewards splashy titles and on-trend topics. The reality is, we live in a world that constantly rewards the loudest, sharpest, most immediately striking things, and I assumed this poem would be too small, too gentle for people to really latch onto.
How wonderfully ironic that this happens to be the very tension the poem lives inside.
Watching it travel so widely on Instagram (reaching nearly 1M views and still climbing) felt so strangely aligned with the poem’s core idea that all I could really do was smile at the absurdity of it. God, how often do we misjudge what matters? How often do we completely miss the meaning that hides in the ordinary?
It never ceases to amaze me, the life a work takes on once it’s released into the world, and this poem did not disappoint. In the end, it simply proved its own point. And I’m grateful to have been proven wrong about this one. :)
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read this poem. If you enjoyed it, let me know by dropping a comment or sharing it. Your support means the absolute world to me. :)
P.S. If you haven’t yet, my debut collection The Size of Your Joy is available for preorder anywhere books are sold. :)
💌 Is mail + poetry your love language? Mine too! You might like my Poem Postcard Club. Check it out below. Also makes a thoughtful gift for your poetry + mail loving friends. :)
Seeing this poem in the wild is what brought me to you. I really love it, thank you for writing it and giving it a public life.
Beautiful. I’m so happy I found your writing this morning, and I’m so grateful you are writing. Much appreciated. Keep up the good work. Cheers!