Minimalism by Benedicta Norell

Minimalism

I have reached the years 

of shedding things. 

I moult my greying hair, 

the grasp of fast fashion 

and others’ expectations. 

I study my rows of books

and wonder if I can live

without them, their hearts

stored in my head. 

I smother my cat with love

knowing he will be my last. 

I lose friends by the dozen

and feel relief. 

I am not sure anymore

what ties me to the world. 

I convince myself 

I could leave tomorrow,

when all I really want

is a white house by the sea.

Benedicta Norell's poetry explores identity, self-worth, chronic illness and body politics. After her MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University, she worked as an editorial assistant before becoming a freelance editor of fiction and memoir. Her poems appear in journals such as Atrium Poetry, Poetry Worth Hearing, Ink Sweat and Tears, The Nuthatch and Blue Press. Her debut chapbook, Terrible Mother, is forthcoming in 2024 with Black Cat Poetry Press.