COMMONPLACE: Volume 1

B Y B E O T E R T I U S V O L U M E 1 : S U M M E R

COMMON PLACE

HAPPY 2023

STAY HOPEFUL. GREET THE SUN AS YOU DO T LEAVE HONEY OUT FOR THE FAIRIES. SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE LADYBUGS AND THE CROWS. LISTEN TO MORE SEASHELLS WISH ON DANDELIONS GO TO THERAPY GET A LATIN STUDY BUDDY. START A BOOK CLUB. FINISH YOUR NOVEL. HOST PICNICS IN THE GARDEN. GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES. READ PALMS AT PARTIES. GO SKATING AT SUNRISE. TAKE MORE PHOTOS. BAKE ON SUNDAYS. KEEP A DREAM JOURNAL. CAST LOVE SPELLS ON YOURSELF. NGERS. EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN. OW YOU’LL BE JUST FINE.

(WHAT A GOOD OMEN)

✨ THE SUMMER LADYBUGS FOLLOWED ME EVERYWHERE ✨

spells for summer

I.iwonder whatyou’reup to,soithrowsalt overmyshoulderand deleteallsocialmedia.it’s thehouroftheoxandifeel sorryforthebothofus.i wokeupsayingyourname-now there’satastenohoneycanerase.

II.ihave unsettling dreams aboutyou sometimes. ideleted yournumber butistillknowitoffby heart.i'matthelast bridgebetweenusand it’salittletoo comfortablehere. couldstayhereforever likei’mfae-touched andensorcelled. buti’mtoogrown forthatnow, ithink.

III. i’lltaketothefire,asismy nature.youknewmewell,soyouknew itwascoming.idon’tdoitgently,it’s notjosspaperformyancestors.itrace yournameinthedirt(that’sacurse)inthe deadoftheforestandisetitablaze.

i’lldomybesttoforget.

i’vebeenrestlessoflatebutithinkthat’sagoodthing. i’mfinallydoingsomethingwithallthisenergyinsideme.

idon’twanttobetheouroborosanymore.ijoinedbumbletomake friendsandeventhoifeeleatenalivebeforei’veevenbegun,let’sseehow thatgoes.rewardsofbeinglovedandallthat.i’mreadytoexorciseallthe ghoststhathavebeenfollowingmearound.doyouhearthebelltoll?it’s callingyouaway.there’saholeinmykeyboarddustcover,ontheE/ㄷ key,whatdouthinkthatmeans?wishicouldtextyouaboutitbutiguess i’llfigureitout.doyouseethatlight?it’scallingyouaway.sawthatoneof myfriendsleftmessengerandwedon’thaveeachotheranyothersns,so nowidon’tknowhowtoreachherandifeltsadandforgottenanduseless foraminute.butfuck.iamtiredoflettingpeopleiloveandwhoonce lovedmecontrolhowifeel.i’mdonewiththatstory,thatperson.iwill shrugoffshamelikeanillfittingcloak.thespellbookisclosednow. you ’vebeencalledaway.theritualisdone.letmebesomethingelsenow.

icannotbeasadpatheticlonely girlanddogreatthingsatthesame time.allthegodsofmyworship, witnessthisproclamation.letme unfurlfromthispositionihave calcifiedin.letmeriseaviper.

thereispoetryindoingnewthingsandlibertyin pushingyourselftobecourageous.thissummeri havefeltsoalive.i’mreallynotrunningfrommy feelingsanymore.maybeiamlovedbysofewer peoplethaniwasafewyearsago,buti’mricherina lotofwaysthatihadpreviouslydiscounted.depth,not breadth,iremindmyself.ican’tstopthinkingabout thoseszalyrics“nowthati’veruinedeverything,i’mso fuckingfree”.it’sabittoohottonight,there’snobreeze atall,butit’sperfectforcreatingmyowncurrent. perfectweatherforsneakingoutforasoloskateand revelinginmyaloneness.ifi’mcursedtofeellikea fuckingloserfortherestofmylife,mightaswelltry tohavefun.

tewoods, watreei’d neverseentherebefore.igothereatleastoncea fortnight,soidon’tknowhowievermissedit before.(strangethingsalwayshappentomehere, rememberthechickensonbeltane?)fromfar away,ithoughtitwasaberrytreeofsomesort.i gotprettyexcitedbecausei’vebeenhuntingfor flyingrowaneversinceifoundoutwhatitis,but thenwhenigotcloser,irealisedtheywere flowers.itfeltprettyauspicioustostumbleupon soipickedacoupletopress,formybookof shadows.(fromtheforestfloor,notfromthe branchhandsthemselves,mindyou).mysage fathersuggestedipickthirteen.today’sthedayi takethemoutofmypress,i’llshowthemtoyou later.somefurtherresearchhasrevealedtome thatthisisaflametree.#beostreelog

節元旦

farewellfierceyear

thattoreme

limbfromlimb

onawhim

it’sthenewmoon,dearfriend

ihavecomebackaghostagain

iwilllaydownmytigerheart

tolureinarabbitin

i’llchantasecretinsideofyou

d

idrawcloserandclosertograduatingfrommytarot school,that’sprettygoodhuh/iwritethenotesonthe thethingsi’llwritebutihaven’twrittenthemyet/can’t believeiforgottoregisterforlatinsummerschoolYET AGAIN/dulceestdesipereinloco/ifeelmerryforno reasonatall/ibelievei’mexcitedaboutallthethingsi wannadoagain/ikeepprayingthingswillworkout,even thoiknowtheywill/nevermetabookstoreididn’tlike/ goingtobedearlysolvesmostconundrums

whenyouwerea kid,didyoueversee howlongyoucould stareintothesun?iused tothinkifikeptdoingit, i’dbreakthespellandi’d abletojustlookatthe sunlight.theotherdayyo sentmeasongthati’dbeen listeningtoonrepeat andwhenibrought upthisdumb memoryof usihad,you remembered ittoo.

thesedayswhenidoodlestarsinmy journalmargins,ialwaysmakesurethe laststroketouchesthefirst,totrapthemagicin. sometimesit’sgoodtogobacktothestart. i’mreallygladyou’rebackinmylife.

notesfromlastweek

ihavesomuchtotellyou.

iwanttosetthe worldonfire,

butallmyideasofhow iwillleavemymark havedrieduplikehusksand destruction’sallihaveleft. wouldyoumissmeifiwasno longerhere?notthatiplan ongoinganywhere,ijust wanttoknow.iwanttowrite, butihavenotime.thenihavetime, butidon’twantto.i’mnotan anythinganymore,leastofalla writer.ikeeptryingtofindmywayback,but isn’titeasiertojustdrown.idon’tknowthati willevermakeitbacktoshore.evenwritingall thisdownfeelssostupid,theimagesweak, mismatchingandtheflowofthingsjarring.i hateeverythingiwritethesedays.iwantto burnitall.i’mgonnadrownwiththe matchbookinmyhand.

meetmeinthegardenatmidnight. summer!

ihavesomuchtotellyou.

notesfrompostvacation

formymother&sister’sbirthdays(theyfalltwodaysapart,alongdistance mirrorofeachother)wewentawaytotheseasideforthreedays,likevictorian ladieswhoneedto“takeintheair”forourvariousillsandmadnesses.

ithinkeveryoneshoulddothisfromtimetotime.packonlyyourfavourite clothes,butdon’tbothertolooknice.bringafavouritebookwithyou(i’vebeen continuingmyherbalstudieswithInkwright’sBotanicalCures&Poisons), watchtheleavesfallanddonothingelse.

westayeduponamountain,withaviewofthesea,whichonemorning,only showedusstormclouds.foggrewaroundthecabinandwehunkeredinuntil wegothungryforfoodthatwasn’tthefruitwepacked.mysisterwasverybrave anddrovethroughallthefogandcloudsthathadpackedaroundthe mountain.itfeltlikeflying.ithinkiwasflying.

itissogoodtogoawayandbemytruestself(theselfiamwheniamwithouta care).laughtercomeseasierthisway.wewenttogoseethefamousblowhole(it didnosuchthingatthelowtidetimewearrivedat)andadmirethelighthouse. ussisterssangtheRoundtheTwistthemesongverybadlyandhootedthe wholewalktodinner.mymother,evertheadventurer,tiptoedtooclosetothe edgeofthewalk,wheretherollingcliffturnstorockyseaquitefastandi laughedwithmywholebeingwhenshescoffedatmyleadingherbacktothe safetyofthepath.

onemorningatbrunch(troutomelette,verygood,youshouldtryit)therewasa babyprayingmantisinmyhair,aboutthesizeofmypinkyfingernail.whata goodomen!!!anewcycleisonitsway,somethingnewbornandprecious, graciouslikedaybreak.somethingicanputmyfaithin.yousaidaprayerfor me,soi’llsayoneforyou.thankyouforeverything.iamveryhappythesedays.