inflation
Don’t tell my past self that she grew up to be someone
who answers emails at 9 p.m. and not someone
who runs a cafe between acting gigs and finishing her book.
But if she finds out, do me a solid and assure her
that a quiet life is good medicine for a mind on the mend
that wanting simplicity is not a symptom of being boring
that there’s always time to find yourself
that there’s never time to kid yourself
that, in a world where children do lockdown drills before lunch
and our empathy is running on “e,”
surviving costs a lot more than it used to.
Copyright © 2023 Chelsea Peyton Robinson