Levi the Poet

“Do not let this thing you got go to waste. Do not let your heart be dismayed. It’s here by some random disclosure of grace from some vascular, great thing…” —

Two of my favorite people have a new book out today, and it’s beautiful. I don’t know how I got the gift of loving and being loved by and , but I’ve been very thankful for the work that they’ve put into the world since well before I knew them, and after both reading this new offering and getting to see it presented through The Low Show a couple of times now, I can confirm that what’s available today is truly something special. Maybe particularly if you are someone well-acquainted with depression, but also—if you’re looking to understand it/someone else who is, or if you happen to be a human. So, if you are a human, you might like this book of poems, prayers, mantras and illustrations while navigating your humanity. I do, anyhow.

Congratulations, guys. Love you. Thank you.

“I’ve heard someone describe art and poetry as ‘language in service of the Unsayable.’ There’s nothing like finding those kinds of words in seasons when they’re so often absent—let alone paired with images so capable of stoking ashes into awe. I felt seen and loved (at the same time?!) in these pages. I found words my spirit has only been able to groan (I even caught her dancing with the Low). Scott and Justin created a hand to hold in the valley, and I’m grateful to the both of them for how warm it is.”

september. my mom came to visit me. t and v. mark. garrett came home for a couple days, and the band with him. i got to screen print things for the first time (for petco of all places) and had a bunch of fun doing it. started a spiritual direction cert program in august and got to start practicing meeting people. brian joy came to town. j gave me cool mushroom shoes. i’m learning lots about ocd and getting to know my brain a little better. endlessly thankful for people’s patience. got a new meds manager. coffee dates are fulfilling and i am helping a few folks edit, design and put out books right now. got to see la dispute. caught frank smiling on camera and captured a nick cuddle. jonathan and emi and elliot came to town and i forgot why and for how long but we all got to hang out and elliot called me a baggy emo boy and told me that i am a twunk. cherries with john and ben. wild heart meditation center with whitney. experienced some sadness and let down. conversations and triggers held together with increased capacity. listened to rupert spira talk about being. sanctuary mental health. the next round of zines. worked out consistently and felt happy about it. got stoked that slow horses is back. started jen hatmaker’s book. loving keller’s “on the mystery.” my nephew arlo turned seven and went bowling and i remember meeting him for the first time when he was just a brand new lizard and I can’t believe how fast time flies or how much changes in its wake. his smile is such a light. guess I’m listing the epitome of things that people say “socials only give you the highlights” about but since i’m always sharing the lows i’m fine with some highs and also i just listened to tell me to spam the timeline a couple nights ago at so here’s to that. also apparently francis can walk on two feet when he wants to. i am very grateful for this life and for the generosity of my friends and family and was this morning reminded of what a beautiful tapestry it all is / you / we all are. to you who make up this constellation, thank you.

Carriers

I’ve been making zines, which has been fun. Cutting paper and doodling and photocopying and finding weird fabric and stapling and designing and…

This is No. 03 of 07. Each one features eleven or twelve pieces of writing from the past four years—some of which you may have read somewhere scattered across the internet, and others… no. Also: doodles and comments, intros and outros.

The first two—RED and ORANGE—are gone. Today: YELLOW (Something Symbiotic), spanning October 21, 2021 - January 22, 2022.

You can find them in my stories.

Posting end of the month pics is my favorite thing to do on Instagram.

June. Almost done with Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher. It’s been too long since I’ve read fiction. Workin on David’s, though (after Lakeside Lounge and cliff jumping). Some of my favorite writing-client conversations to date and a whole lot of Coffee Date-ers who made me cry when I asked them how they’d describe our work together. Mynerva FaceTime’d me during Limp Bizket’s “Nookie” at the Metallica show in Denver. Micah’s birthday. Started running again. It’s hot now. Gotta do it in the evenings. Pride with Spero Dei and Solstice Moon Songs with St. A’s. Centering Prayer at the CCJ and Parthenon walks with Seth. Family in town and the sweetest little niece-and-nephews (Colt’s gonna be THREE)?!. Friends in town and Jack’s Mannequin with A & J. No Kings with Whit and Lisa and Ruthie and the guy singing Bob Marley songs and the gal in Handmaid’s Tale attire and a random bar by a AAA baseball stadium that I didn’t know existed. Still discovering new things here. Lots of the best hangs with Garrett and Velvet Taco and Mario Kart that new Murderbot show on Apple TV. Ring cameras with the (newly engaged!!!) boys. Feeling the rain on our skin (no one else can feel it for you). “The girlies.” Started rolling out the first of a series of zines with unreleased poetry and I’m enjoying the physicality of the project. Volume 02 is already done. Not as many 5am wake-ups this month (how is it 3:30am now) but we’re alive. Heart-to-hearts with Josh to cap the night. My friend always posts “another beautiful week” carousels and I love them. Here’s my month’s.

May was fun. Lots of my favorite folks in town. “What Pi**es You Off?” with Bry. Giggles with John. I got up at 5 AM most mornings and crashed at 10 PM most nights. Had some weird mystical moments with my dog and cried a bunch. The birds are really loud at five am, and sometimes the sun looks like it’s just a big white hole in the sky. Wrote some new poetry. Got to perform some old poetry in contexts I never thought I’d be in again. Loving my therapist and my friends here and so thankful. Garret got home after being gone all year. Xiao Boa beef fries and faux Big Macs. Bite a Bit birthdays for J. Rob’s book. Kevin’s book. Mallory’s book. The Telepathy Tapes. Caleb and I cuddled in Atlanta and Nashville. Tiki fun with Aaron. Stripped, patched and painted a wall. Built a shelf if you call cutting a board in my bedroom and finding studs “building.” Made a bunch of holes that still need filling. Bought plants. Saw old friends. Walks and talks with Keri. My nephew Bram turned one and my niece Scout turned five and she’s so damn cute it’s unbelievable. Writing with whoever wants to write on the weekends. Dog parks. Ben introduced me to True Blood and I’m hooked. Pete. Hamburgers at Spero. Went to a pool. Trying new things. Thinking a lot about the word emergence.

Here’s the link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/88424675236?pwd=4XpqUxywN141KW1AQhBc8w6lKbZtwI.1&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAae-lQJEBu6Dc3WOUt0bKgJ94Wk4q5bXIsdHgFWJlxmN6GfVpGVGqqN5-Wsk7g_aem_0UIS-DggXY7PNE2KFzvdKQ

I picked up needles, cotton balls and 
one of those blue rubber strips 
(the ones As Seen On TV! markets 
as a jar-lid opener) 
from the grass at the park across the street — 
where Brandi walks the dog too late at night — 
zipped them back up inside 
the polka-dotted toiletry bag emptied out 
next to four months’ worth of unopened bills 
for a woman whose name I can’t remember, 
and threw them in the trash can.

-

“A Corner Lot in Albuquerque.” For anyone who wants a glimpse outside the house I had, and hasn’t seen Breaking Bad. Siri says it’s about “daily life, neighbors, and crime.” So. 😂 Full poem / audio up on the Sub (see story for 🔗).

I have an unbelievable amount of Facebook messages in response to IG stories that I didn’t even know were going to Facebook. WELP. SORRY GUYS.