"Your life is a dog. He's been hungry for miles,"

Poem
The Resemblance Between Your Life and A Dog - Robert Bly

I never intended to have this life, believe me—
It just happened. You know how dogs turn up
At a farm, and they wag but can't explain.

It's good if you can accept your life—you'll notice
Your face has become deranged trying to adjust
To it. Your face thought your life would look

Like your bedroom mirror when you were ten.
That was a clear river touched by mountain wind.
Even your parents can't believe how much you've changed.

Sparrows in winter, if you've ever held one, all feathers,
Burst out of your hand with a fiery glee.
You see them later in hedges. Teachers praise you,

But you can't quite get back to the winter sparrow.
Your life is a dog. He's been hungry for miles,
Doesn't particularly like you, but gives up, and comes in.

Beverage
Trader Joe's Black Cherry Vanilla sparkling water

This was a seasonal one, so I don't know if it is still in stores. But I bought two cases and still have one. I can provide some bootleg cans on the side. I really liked it — a little creamy, maybe winking at a Cherry Coke?

Scent
D.S. & Durga Rose Atlantic

Let me preface: I would not spend the $210 for the full size of this. The one that will eventually break me is their Coriander, which I have mentioned previously.

But I threw a sample of Rose Atlantic in my bag for the next few days because I am pretending it is real spring. I don't think of this scent as a true hot-weather scent, but more of one to wear with a light sweater on a breezy day. It isn't so rose-forward as the name implies, more citrus and sea salt. Maybe some tall grasses on the beach. This is a fleeting one, not an all-day clinger, which is part of why I don't think it's worth the price tag. But I do like the lightness here. Easy, breezy, and honestly — a little bit of that Glossier You musk underneath.

Now playing via Spotify "daylist"

Other things

Spring ahead - update

I found an outrageous amount of typos in the newsletter last week when I revisited it, as expected. (An incorrect it's, horrible.) I also have now come to better terms with spring ahead after driving to a wine tasting at 6pm with the sun still out and my car windows open and my music blasting, etc.

Newsletter business

I've thought about putting little toggles so you can skip or not skip sections as you choose.

You can reply to the newsletter directly now, like you could before with the tinyletter, and I will receive it in my inbox. If I have missed a message from you since moving to Ghost, I am so sorry! Send it again!! I want to read it and send a belated response when I panic respond to all my emails!!!

Thank you to loyal reader and friend and former carpooler and colleague Ash for alerting me to this. <3

Carts online

I have been doing a wardrobe audit and once again am realizing I don't really have presentable summer shoes. I have sandals. I have occasion heels. I have sneakers. I have a pair of huaraches, but those are almost still sandals. I don't have actual closed toe shoes to wear like a normal person in the world in summer. Did I already write about shoes last month? Yes. I am so sorry. We're back in it.

Incredibly, I can keep thinking about what shoes I should buy for so much longer than this. We'll be deep into summer before I finally figure it out.

Here are the shoes I am thinking about now. We have two pairs I previously linked here and two pairs that fall into the orthopedically-cute category, where the on-trend Arcopedicos live. I have a pair of the Madewell Gretas already in black, and while it was a slowburn relationship, I am now wearing them constantly. But the black doesn't feel quite as summer-ready to me as I would like.

1. Camper Casa Myri woven flat - extremely top contender
2. Camper Casa Myri leather flat
3. Madewell Greta flat, red
4. Madewell Greta flat, mesh

Because of who I am, I will likely end up with the two ivory options even though I claimed I was going all red and pink this summer. Maybe writing this paragraph is the accountability I need.

Here are several related thoughts:

• I can imagine wearing any of these with this little dress and some gold hoops and all my little gold rings and feeling very ready to go about my whole day and evening without a problem or needing to put weird changes of clothes in my bag. Like I could just have a normal purse with me instead of a black hole of a Mary Poppins bag. Imagine if I had a little red gingham Baggu bag, how cute. But those are sold out. Maybe just a regular red one.
  • I think that vibe would work in the part of the summer where I am blowing out my hair or curling it and looking polished and fun and also the part where I am doing that but then putting it in a ponytail after two humid hours AND at the point where I have resigned myself to the fact that my hair has about four different textures and so it is going in a clip or a braid from the beginning of the day.
    • (You didn't ask but: curls around my ears and at the nape of my neck (this does lead to cutie little stray ringlets around 11p in the middle of August), cowlicks in the front, straight in random chunks, wavy everywhere else. All these little videos where people do some nice little treatments to their hair and voila it has great curl or wave? Not helpful. Not complaining, though, great volume and body — just not very amenable to being worn down on a humid day.)
• Yes, Madewell having a 25% off everything sale and sending me a half-birthday coupon had me clicking all over the site and that's why there are multiple Madewell links in this email.
• I'm going to Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan on Tuesday, so we will see what the kids are wearing for shoes as a litmus test.

(actually though)

do you ever notice if a poem is repeated from years ago? i think this might be one but haven't actually checked.