Content Warning: suicidal ideation

healing isn’t linear, the spectators say
if it holds a shape, it’s a circle
but not a friendly one
not one found on the reading rug,
in the solar system,
or in a lover’s eyes
one that spirals beyond the measures of control

i am imprisoned in the vicious cycle of healing
and therefore, akin to it, i am a hurricane
i am many things—passionate, stubborn, fierce
but enduring is not one of them

because all storms fizzle out
to foam, to home
and one day, so will i
the ships will go down with me

persistent hate only vanquishes with the destruction of love
and the other way around,
and around,
and around

healing is a hurricane
and i, too, am healing still
but i was born in the north
this is not my climate

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Kayla Michelle (she/her) is a queer, neurodivergent creative based in Florida and New York. She’s a theatre major and English minor at Rollins College. You can find her writing published in Flag Magazine, Sardine Can Collective, and Little Old Lady Comedy. Her debut singer-songwriter EP called Song of Sappho is out March 6, 2026.

Instagram: @kmpwriter
Website: sites.google.com/view/kaylamichelle/home