bright/cringe

art to me
means
going somewhere you know, fully
felt wide open

honesty, mixed up
with some stuff
that might not-quite happen
that far-sight
other side of life
reflecting real and imagined
forming shapes
and conjuring dragons
from past lives, our minds
replay tragic
events that shattered
any sense of protection we had
hunted or gathered
conflating safety
with new ways to look backward
absorbing pain
for all the ones that came after
back there, on linear paths
trying to avoid disaster
yelling “FIRE” at people
that always rise from the ashes

trying to hide
holding back, fighting on through the tendency
to mask or pre-react
on one another’s behalf
to shy away
based on what they might say

eyes squint, dilate
through cringe and double-take
in blinding light
swelling out at the edges
re-calibrated at new comfort levels
clearly seen, now
to be
sunlight
going places
it can never come back from, anyway

This poem was based on two random thoughts:

• Cringe is a cultural response to someone showing how bright they can be, without shame. It’s a protective mechanism that allows the Cringer to remain where they are, unchallenged and safe in a judgement role. Instead, what if they were able to witness and adjust their eyes to the brightness?
• Art is about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, into the dark spaces under your bed, to feel something challenging. Art is going somewhere you may not be able to come back from, and going anyway. There’s a trust and inner knowing that we need: a resiliency that can sometimes be squashed by people (or ourselves) trying to protect us. We can’t bounce back from everything, but everything amazing that we’ve done started as a leap of faith. What’s the worst that could happen?

These two thoughts combined to make “cringebright” - a fun little emoji friend that I’m going to use whenever I feel that cringe energy, either in judgement of someone else or in self-protection (shying away from doing anything because “what will they all think?”). It’s going to help me ask: what are you flinching at? Is something too bright, or new, for you to handle? Are you judging someone’s authenticity? Easy Tiger…

Maybe we can all lighten up a bit, and make something new for someone to cringe at.

😎