During the Dumpster Fire, by Kayla Martell Feldman

Dear Readers,

We were so excited and overwhelmed by the poems we received for our upcoming Mundane Joys anthology that we had to share a few on The Rail! This week brings we have a thoughtful and percussive piece from Kayla Martell Feldman

Mundane Joys celebrates the less-obvious triumphs of every day life. Each copy comes with a custom Derailleur Press tea blend and seed paper to grow a garden of your own. Visit our store to reserve yours today!

Happy reading!

- Derailleur Press

During the Dumpster Fire

Remember the puppies. 
Or whatever small animal most tugs at your heartstrings. 
Remember them doing things like yawning, dreaming, 
yowling their first too-high too-quiet yowl. 
Remember that there are pancakes for every dietary requirement, 
and that strawberries are always in season somewhere. 
Remember that you can have your eggs any way you like: 
With a kiss, if you’re lucky. 
Remember that soldiers out of uniform can always be dipped. 
During the dumpster fire, remember not to burn your poems. 
Or, if you must, memorise them first. 
Recite them from the rooftop as the flames climb to the top floor 
and immortalise yourself in metaphor: 
The ashes of your words will be carried by the wind 
Over to the next city, or country, or continent, or hemisphere, or planet or galaxy or Universally fucked. 
We are universally fucked. 
Remember the music that screams almost as loud as your soul is screaming right now. WE ARE SO, SO FUCKED! it screams. 
Scream back. 
Sing off-key. 
Whisper sweet nothings and fall behind dancing. 
Remember that there is a choice between cake and death, 
and that the restaurant at the end of the universe has a pineapple upside-down cake to die for and I just might! (I’m allergic to pineapple.) 
Remember that Tories is just one letter away from Stories, and you are a Better writer than Boris. Remember that you can spin anything into gold and everything he touches turns to Ashes is all that’s left after the flames. 
So, during the dumpster fire? 
Do everything else.

​Kayla Martell Feldman is a writer and director for the page, stage, and screen, currently based in London, writing mostly with a focus on themes of identity, family history, mental illness, and womanhood.