ISSUE 75

The unedited version of this recording includes my jumping out of frame to suggest something to Logan about how to capture the video. And then I jump back into frame, not having even voiced the thought, telling Logan, “Never mind. I trust your creative vision.” The building in the background is St. Joseph’s, which was originally the main building where the brothers of Mount Saviour Monastery lived and prayed before it became the guest house. The interaction with my friend and the chosen background indicate a belief implied by this poem, central to my writing, and embodied by the Benedictine vows that pair stability of place with a radical openness to change. Namely, that one’s ability to hurl oneself joyfully, courageously into the world is directly proportional to the level of confidence one has in the people with whom one finds oneself.

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Katie Vogel is the author of the chapbook "The Awakening" (Bottlecap Press 2023) as well as several poems scattered across the internet. She is an MA Art History candidate and Florence Fellow in Syracuse’s Florence Graduate Program in Italian Renaissance Art.

Insta: @katiebirdwashere