ODE TO SELF

My little love letter zine. This took so long to finish but I now have them all done. It was for me a really interesting experiment with the shape a zine can be, and how to package something in a fitting and interesting way. I like to make something a whole experience of opening it, so it feels more special and like an actual little gift to yourself (or to give to someone you love). I completed all the zines with a little wax seal with the title on it, so to open it you have to break it open and do it mindfully. I think it needs to be read carefully, not too fast so you can look at the different ways it looks when it’s folded or not. It was inspired by Victorian love letters that people would sent to each other, but now it's a love letter to yourself. The poem can be read in two different ways. The first one starting with 'I am', the other side starting with 'I will be.'  The poems can also be mixed, depending on how you read it.

I am

two hands holding a clementine

the dried ink of a victorian love letter

a medieval tapestry woven by thoughtful hands

two bodies holding each other in a thousand year old grave 

(I am) being held by all the possibilities I still possess 

I am so capable of loving

if I don't forget 

where it comes from 

I will be 

allowed to be more 

(I will be) holding stars in my hands

(I will be) allowed to be less

(I will be) a name carved into a tree