Anais Vionet Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

there and back

I've just been to Africa.
Our trip was a rush job.

In a hazardous and chaotic cosmos, 
it's another world. Entirely.

If you go to another planet,
don't plan on staying long,
they're slippery and dangerous.

I'm back now—to my weird little life,
where I’ve always been netted and safe— 
in classes—swaddled in color-coded calendars.

I like books - book books, paper books.
There's something memorable to durable goods,
the physical, a hex to text you can touch.

School requires a quiet disappearance.
All at once but nothing dramatic,
just small, measurable units
moment by moment edits.
A pleasure removed here or postponed there, 
things renamed “inefficient” mostly.

One can lose oneself in self-improvement.
As you get better at academic measurables, 
everything else suffers.

You can streamline your personality,
to disengage with distractions—
no matter how cute they are.
.
.
Songs for this:
TiK ToK by Kesha
2 days into college by Aimee Carty

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Arlo Parker October 2, 2026 at 10:24 AM Such a rich debutante academic environment you inhabit. Your biggest hardship: bringing your own tp to the dark continent. So much diversity in such a tiny package. Room for more.....? Chameleon Princess. <><

Gordon Mcconnell October 1, 2026 at 1:23 PM Nice penning Anais, well constructed with insightful and interesting thoughts. Trust you enjoyed Africa; I've been to South Africa a couple of times for holidays in '03 and '07, quite memorable occasions. Have a great weekend, blessings, Gordon

Vincine Fallica October 1, 2026 at 5:38 AM I remember a being a citizen of school. Even had to get vaccines to do clinicals. Real life was another country. I’ve been a permanent resident here for a while now. / Nice photo. / 💛 Anais Vionet October 1, 2026 at 6:14 AM I love school. I'll draw a subject that I assume is going to be boring, but then find myself asking, 'THAT's clever, who the fuck thought of that?" In some movie or something I saw once, a character said "No one can call you a bum if you're in school." That's one of school's attractions - I get the feeling I'm accomplishing something, building towards something when I may just be killing time.