how to keep going natalia violette

issue 4

// poetry

How to Keep Going When You Can’t Keep Going
by Natalia Violette

Most days, I am drowning
in the warm womb of the earth, inhaling
every reason to stay. For years,
I’ve taken no notice of how this body weeps

to be witnessed & held in the dark;
how much of my mother still lives
inside this splintered marrow;
how gently this land greets non-believers.

But this morning, my love hands me a rock
because it’s perfect for skipping.
A kingfisher teases me with hues of heaven.
Honeyed light cascades lazily through my favorite oak.

Even the little girl screaming inside me stops
to savor the smooth edges before the stone darts
atop the silky skin of the river.
It’s true, many moments have melted,

making a mess in my hands,
but how foolish of me to leave
this party so soon, when it’s clear
I am made of everything here.

about the author // Natalia Violette

Natalia Violette (she/her) is a poet, eco-somatic practitioner, and nature-loving copywriter. Her work explores grief, sensuality, and spirituality through a feminist, earth-bound lens—writing toward healing, reclamation, and the wholeness of being human. She is the author of Bring Me Back My Wild, her debut poetry collection, self-published in 2023. After surviving cancer at twenty-eight, she now devotes her days to helping others reconnect with themselves, each other, and the natural world.

Instagram: @natalia.violette
Website: http://www.violetteinkcreative.com