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.

Chelsea Robinson