Brittany Given

journal eleven.

tell me how to breathe again. i’m holding my breath and i’m counting down but the numbers never stop ending. i forgot how to take a breath. inhale. out. hold. holdholdho—getaquickbreathin— i’m having to learn how to breathe again and i’m thinking thinking thinking all these no thoughts like how, can’t i just go backContinue reading “journal eleven.”

journal ten.

The setting is as follows: a cool Sunday, about late afternoon / early evening, wind is still blowing as New York wind does, but it’s not bad. There’s a group of three friends passing around a volleyball pretty badly, but they’re having fun. A couple lays down and cracks open two beers. A group ofContinue reading “journal ten.”

journal nine.

Let me write you a love letter. I’ll sign it with “xoxo,” that nickname you gave me so long ago, and maybe a spritz of perfume—give you something to remember me by. I’ll start it with “To my beloved” and finish that off with “babe”… no, “lover”… maybe your name, but that’s too casual, no?Continue reading “journal nine.”

journal eight.

I’ve stopped closing my curtains at night. And in the morning, I wake up to bright light, but it’s not harsh. It’s fresh, delicate and deliberate, touching all the sins of the past night away. Anew. A bird takes a dive from the rooftop across my fire escape but in the next second, swoops up,Continue reading “journal eight.”

journal seven.

Dear That Certain No One In Particular, I’m sitting at a really long, solid wood desk on the lower floor of my fancy office situated amongst the expensive high-rises on 5th Ave trying to figure out how to work this platform all my tasks run on and unfortunately just getting more confused in the meantime.Continue reading “journal seven.”

journal six.

Happiness is such a luxury, let me tell you. I have found it in the touching buildings and inch-separated, parallel parked cars that line my morning walk from 2nd Ave to Ave A, in the car honks and ambulance sirens that have become my white noise to fall asleep to, in the breath of fresh,Continue reading “journal six.”

journal five.

She was a firecracker. Radiant where she walked. She was self destructive. Bursting apart from the inside out. She was an enigma. She was strong. In her words that said no. But they were built out of wood; they wouldn’t last long. One Jenga block pull away from collapsing. She was weak. In action. InContinue reading “journal five.”

journal four.

We don’t fall in love with people. We fall in love with moments—with the calm of hands running through hair, with the tickle of laughter against skin, with the warmth of a body nearby. We don’t fall in love with people. We fall in love with moments—with the hours that feel like mere minutes thatContinue reading “journal four.”

journal three.

Today, I am finally flying, and when I tell you I am on the brink of shedding some tears, I promise you they are nothing but happy ones. The sky is so beautiful. More beautiful than I remember. I feel like I can touch the clouds; I mean, I am. I am moving through themContinue reading “journal three.”

journal two.

I walked outside today for the first time in forever (I’m being dramatic). I spent yesterday stationed in front of a screen. I had a running list of assignments to get done, and unfortunate for me, my second monitor isn’t as portable as my dear ol’ laptop. Hi, my name is Brittany, and I comeContinue reading “journal two.”