The Understory

The Understory

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The Understory
The Understory
"Tell Me About Despair, Yours, And I Will Tell You Mine"

"Tell Me About Despair, Yours, And I Will Tell You Mine"

Finding pinpricks of joy amidst the darkness

Danielle Coffyn's avatar
Danielle Coffyn
Jul 03, 2024
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The Understory
The Understory
"Tell Me About Despair, Yours, And I Will Tell You Mine"
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trees under blue sky and stars during nighttime photo
Photo by Wil Stewart

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. - Mary Oliver, Wild Geese

This week my mind is on fire. Originally, I planned to publish a piece on the importance of play for adults, but I can’t bring myself to finish editing. Between last week’s presidential debate, this week’s Supreme Court decision, and the messages I received from dozens of people who shared the desperation of selling plasma to pay bills after I wrote a poem on the subject, I feel myself toeing the edge of despair.

This is not an opinion piece about what political parties need to do next. There’s enough noise as it is. I will do the only thing I currently have control over in November. I will vote. Whoever the Democratic Party selects—Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the Gecko from Geico—I will vote for their candidate because I cannot fathom another four years with Donald Trump as president. Regardless of my disagreement with certain policies of the current administration, my ideals are signi…

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