This poem and episode are the last for season 2—we’ll be taking a bit of a break to revamp & rebuild for season 3! Some exciting changes & shifts are in store. Please stay tuned!

Our final episode for season 2 takes a deep dive into the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method, which is a grounding technique meant to support you through stress, anxiety, and panic, hopefully guiding you back to the present moment. You begin by identifying 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. In addition, the poem incorporates some box breathing. As if tracing a box, this practice involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, breathing out for 4 seconds, and holding for 4 seconds (repeat as many times as needed). In the poem, we put a bit of a spin on the word ‘grounding’ by using these mindfulness techniques to follow the journey of a seed being planted and growing into a flower.

Here's an excerpt of the poem (the full written & visually formatted versions can now be found & read at mikbrew.substack.com!):

I see a pair of eyes—one gold & one white— among a blue field of birds & unharvestable cotton. I stretch & slip between two bolls until my stem is parallel; until I can bend it like a back & let them stitch to it, helping me fly as if my leaves were feathers.

Listen to this week's episode to hear the full poem! If you’d like to share your moment or memory on the podcast, please head to tinyurl.com/bravingthewaves.

This week's poem and episode explore a story—one of a young person navigating the grief of losing both their mother and their dog. But there is much more to this story, as there are always many layers of grief. This story brings us alongside someone re-writing what love’s residue is and how forgiveness isn’t linear.

Here's an excerpt of the poem (the full written & visually formatted versions can now be found & read at mikbrew.substack.com!):

Love can’t burn—burn away, that is— there’s always something left at the end to remind you that death isn’t your fault.

Listen to this week's episode to hear the full poem! If you’d like to share your moment or memory on the podcast, please head to tinyurl.com/bravingthewaves.

This week's poem and episode use a Villanelle, which is a French form of poetry alternating two repeating lines. This episode is inspired by the famous poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night”, by Dylan Thomas. It allows us to think about moments when we’ve been afraid to venture outside, especially at night (literally and of ourselves). More specifically, the poem explores how we hide inside—our home and internally—from what we’re afraid of, thinking that we’re protecting ourselves. Sometimes this is necessary! Fear can be useful fireproofing, but not always. Though it feels safer and warmer indoors, there is much we can only see and experience outside (of ourselves and the literal places we hide in), even after the sun goes down.

Here's an excerpt of the poem (the full written & visually formatted versions can now be found & read at mikbrew.substack.com!):

So hungry, I leave just a sliver of white and feed every memory of when I’d never been outside at night.

Listen to this week's episode to hear the full poem! If you’d like to share your moment or memory on the podcast, please head to tinyurl.com/bravingthewaves.