THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS SELECTED IN WINGWORD POETRY PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST.

I wake up every day flicking through the

100 tabs opened in my mind

The mind has a lot to process at once

And probably not at the best time of the day

I try to organize these under labels

The ones that resonate with my state of mind on that day

For the past few weeks

These have been hurt, anger, sensitive, confused

The thoughts are neatly sheltered under these tabs

My mind looks sorted, contradictory to what it feels like

Each emotion has a color associated with it

My mind full of rainbows is now ready to face yet another day

With all its might

More thoughts come in and go out each day

I try not to bookmark any

These are not meant to stay

I sleep every night imagining my collection of happy tabs

Filled with thoughts I cannot wait to process!

My mind is still a work in progress

But isn’t everything so?