BY JOANNA C. VALENTE

Lately, I’ve been trying to get out of my comfort zone and find new crafts and hobbies to have fun with, that I don’t necessarily have to put any kind of pressure on myself to do “well.” If the pandemic has taught me anything, it’s to pause, be still, listen to my body, and stop finding myself in a cycle of constant and unsustainable productivity.

Like many people who are interested in spirituality and occult practices and rituals, I’m always looking for new ways to deepen my relationship with myself and the energy around me. How can I become better, more attuned, and find meaning around me through practice?

I recently started learning how to make candles and perfumes - and while I was making a new set of scented candles, I decided to write a poem for each as a way to work through my emotions, channel energy, and use my creativity to strengthen these experiences. Mostly, I wanted to focus on finding joy in all things, even the painful moments, even the mundane (and perhaps, especially those things).

Plus, I love a good ekphrastic challenge - and who doesn’t love just creating without feeling the pressure of making it “good” - and just allowing the moment to just be.

Here are the three poems I wrote alongside and with the candles (Note: I am clearly still a beginner with the candles, but including the photos for reference):

Cherry Lavender Dream

We swim in nothing
but your dreams
lavish prizes honey lavender
swirls threading
us together,
a haze forever.

The Forest Ghost

Mist washes over
you heart like
a tight glove
you can’t take off
just like you can’t
take love off,
or step out of it,
like an old dress
you no longer want.
It’s still there.

Orange Sunrise

The unexpected thunder
of joy
given to you
by the universe.
You cannot
control it.
Not when you get
it or give
it.

Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body), #Survivor: A Photo Series (forthcoming), and A Love Story (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press, 2021). They are the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault and the illustrator of Dead Tongue (Yes Poetry, 2020). They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine.