You might hear the haters and the naysayers bay,⁣
“But you’re not allowed to feel that way!!”⁣
They may gossip and call you by a petty name, ⁣
including but not limited to “cray-cray”.⁣
⁣
But for now, you can only hope and pray⁣
that they soon learn to live and love in the gray⁣
because that’s where we all are these quarantined days.⁣
⁣
So, how many of these pencils are you feeling like today?⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Part 2:⁣⁣
• erased⁣ • even-keeled⁣ • fake⁣ • grateful⁣ • greasy⁣ • hungry⁣ • lost⁣ • on edge

If there’s one thing you pull from this whimsical display,⁣
it’s to embrace and don’t push any feelings away⁣
(especially not because of some bully’s bray).⁣
⁣
We’re all just doing our best in “sanity” to stay,⁣
especially as we go longer into this heartbreaking fray.⁣
⁣
So thank you for tolerating my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad wordplay,⁣
because I can no longer tell if it’s Wednesday or Thursday⁣
(But hopefully, it’s FriYay!)⁣
Okay,⁣
I’ll stop here without further delay.⁣
⁣
Can you embrace which of these pencils you — and others — are feeling like today?⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Part 3:⁣⁣
• on point!⁣ • organized⁣ • reflective⁣ • smart⁣ • spiraling⁣ • strong⁣ • useful⁣ • vulnerable⁣

I created this at the start of April 2020, when many were struggling with the pandemic and the complexities and unknowns around it. My hope was that this playful exercise made it easier for folks to communicate how they were feeling and how they could be experiencing multiple — even contradictory — feelings at once. During difficult times, our society pushes us to keep moving forward and not sit with difficult and painful emotions. Not doing so is dangerous and unrealistic, so it’s a narrative I’m trying to change one story and person at a time.