a cigarette at 2am
By Taylor Neal
there’s a stagnance in these walls
this house.
ceiling fans,
the only source of movement
in the air,
recycling.
over and over,
blades churning stagnance,
thick like molasses
and yet we smile and say good morning as we pour our coffee side by side
just like yesterday.
optimism in our mugs, our tones
our cheeks,
though we haven’t felt the winter in days.
in the dark, in the silence,
I hear each rotation clearly
cutting through stale breath.
I can’t sleep.
am I breathing?
where does the carbon dioxide go?
Groundhog Day.
I need some air.
how long have I been here?
2am,
a cigarette,
I crack the window.
A Canadian multi-disciplinary artist, writer, yoga instructor and women's advocacy support worker, Taylor (she/they) strives to gain deeper understandings of the endless complexity that is human experience, through translating life into the realm of the tangible via art both verbal and visual. Practically, Taylor combines their background in dance and performance, their passion for the written word, and their curiosity within contemporary visual art and photography, with their studies in Communications, Art History, Feminist Theory, Design for Theatre and Fashion Design. Their cumulative artistic, somatic, and literary practice comes together as a holistic exploration of identity, movement, sexuality, and how the embodied subject navigates space and the natural world.
Website: taylorneal.ca
Instagram: @nzzltea