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Kim.'s avatar

Honestly, Suleika—cobalt blue on you? My optic nerve considered conversion. That colour carries both prayer & rebellion. Unholy perfection. It’s the kind of blue that shouldn’t just be worn—it should be declared. Like a saint’s hem trailing through a souk or the final glint of daylight on a tiled rooftop just before night arrives with her secrets.

I read this not just with my eyes, but with my skin. Jasmine. Oud. The wild-eyed waiter scandalised by tabouna. (A linguistic stumble I now consider the gold standard in cultural exchange.) But beyond the laughter, the ache—the good kind. The kind that says, you belong somewhere, & you haven’t been back in too long. And Tunisiana arrived. As an early subscriber, I felt her brewing—felt her gathering mood boards in the dark, whispering in both French & Arabic, dragging chairs across tiled floors with purpose. The kind of place where inherited blues live beside lemon peels, where ancestral memory gets to wear red lipstick & laugh too loud in a quiet gallery.

In my own world, beauty doesn’t knock. She slips in uninvited—smelling faintly of burnt sugar & sandalwood. She hides in the scorch on toast, the chipped bowl I can’t let go of, the silver cutlery I keep polished for no one but me. I light incense for no reason. I turn the spoon the right way in the drawer. I whisper thank you to the kettle like it’s an old friend who stayed.

What do I want more of? Beauty with no manners. The kind that stains your fingers. That arrives late, barefoot, unapologetic. That lingers like scent on the wrist long after you’ve forgotten where it came from. Give me more blue that offends the beige. More objects that remember the hands that made them. More scent that rewrites the hour.

And truly—more dresses just like yours. The ones that turn longing into light.

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Becky Ridenour's avatar

Unfortunately I am in the hospital where I have been since Friday. I’m currently waiting for test results and then either finally get to go home or have to deal with plan B. I’m not feeling very optimistic so please forgive me.

I am also a little scared but trying not to let my husband see it when he comes to visit.

Take care everyone!

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