{"id":382,"date":"2025-11-13T23:41:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T23:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/?page_id=382"},"modified":"2025-11-15T16:05:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T16:05:48","slug":"seasons","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/poetry\/seasons\/","title":{"rendered":"Seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Megan Spreadbury<\/span><\/p>\n

I cut my fingers on my soul<\/span><\/p>\n

told too many people<\/span><\/p>\n

to leave me behind<\/span><\/p>\n

while they grew old<\/span><\/p>\n

because they shouldn\u2019t<\/span><\/p>\n

have to know<\/span><\/p>\n

the sharp pieces<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I sat in a tent<\/span><\/p>\n

cautioned off<\/span><\/p>\n

from society<\/span><\/p>\n

because here lies<\/span><\/p>\n

someone who died<\/span><\/p>\n

not too long ago<\/span><\/p>\n

mentally<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I scraped my knuckles on concrete<\/span><\/p>\n

willed my words<\/span><\/p>\n

to remove the incomplete<\/span><\/p>\n

signs<\/span><\/p>\n

left scattered<\/span><\/p>\n

in the middle of meetings<\/span><\/p>\n

greeting strangers on sidewalks<\/span><\/p>\n

because they might<\/span><\/p>\n

realize<\/span><\/p>\n

I should come with<\/span><\/p>\n

a warning label<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I forgot about myself<\/span><\/p>\n

for a minute<\/span><\/p>\n

it was summer<\/span><\/p>\n

and I was somewhere<\/span><\/p>\n

the life detour<\/span><\/p>\n

toward deaths reminder<\/span><\/p>\n

couldn\u2019t reach me<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I ignored the preaching reminder<\/span><\/p>\n

that no matter<\/span><\/p>\n

how often life ridiculed<\/span><\/p>\n

people<\/span><\/p>\n

for drowning in their own<\/span><\/p>\n

sorrow<\/span><\/p>\n

I would never be<\/span><\/p>\n

happy<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I suffocated<\/span><\/p>\n

for a single<\/span><\/p>\n

second<\/span><\/p>\n

and I knew<\/span><\/p>\n

peace<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I sliced my palms on<\/span><\/p>\n

harsh truths<\/span><\/p>\n

whispered in the shadows<\/span><\/p>\n

open, uncouth<\/span><\/p>\n

and burning<\/span><\/p>\n

in a slender format<\/span><\/p>\n

that didn\u2019t match<\/span><\/p>\n

the font<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought<\/span><\/p>\n

I was written in<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I berated my intelligence<\/span><\/p>\n

for hiding the fear<\/span><\/p>\n

of imprisonment<\/span><\/p>\n

in a body<\/span><\/p>\n

that wouldn\u2019t understand<\/span><\/p>\n

how to handle me<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I buried my soul in cold weather<\/span><\/p>\n

abandoned banter<\/span><\/p>\n

and hoped<\/span><\/p>\n

no one would find it<\/span><\/p>\n

under the snow<\/span><\/p>\n

when a warm spring<\/span><\/p>\n

made it melt<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I prayed<\/span><\/p>\n

for silence<\/span><\/p>\n

and pleaded<\/span><\/p>\n

with the heavens<\/span><\/p>\n

in the hope<\/span><\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t be<\/span><\/p>\n

gone<\/span><\/p>\n

when I finally found myself<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nMegan Spreadbury I cut my fingers on my soul told too many people to leave me behind while they grew…\n<\/div>\n
Continue reading “Seasons”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"parent":322,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-382","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":383,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/382\/revisions\/383"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}