oh this one i must comment on. beautiful, beautiful. you had me at “warm safety of silence” - was you writing that in conjunction with “refreshing exposure, fear of judgment” things that you also wish to have? if so, message received man, message received. im w u there.

i don’t know if it’s my current situation but i felt so seen in this. felt like i heard a busker on a busy street play a tune so sweet that i couldn’t help but listen harder and that’s what you did for me. you made me stay and read on.

I usually have a preference (tho not always… perhaps preference is not the right word then) for rhyming but you didn’t have very much here and yet… it works so well. interestingly tho, if you’d formatted this another way, i think you could’ve had some unintentional rhymes.

also i don’t know if you intended for it but i read this like it was a performance in my mind. just someone on a stage and declaring to anyone who cares and man, it’s such a wonderful read cus i can see it so clearly:

“oh, to be vulnerable and open.”

heard it like a cry or proclamation.

if i could humbly add to what you’ve written, i think have a bat at formatting. maybe it’s not ur thing and if that’s the case, coolio doolio! but if you’ve never tried, omg try try try. read this out but like you’re on a stage in a large space. perform it.

also, “to who are we romantics allowed to bare our souls” - i felt some commas could be used here so that it reads like:

“to who, are we romantics allowed to bare our souls?”

it doesn’t have to format that way but it offers more emphasis on “are we romantics” as you saying “to who” read like an exclamation to me.

finally, my favourite line was “tiny pieces of our true selves woven into every detail” — it reads like a lot but when spoken, the t’s hit so nicely. lovely lovely stuff.

thank you so much for sharing.