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Posts from a Progressive Diagnosis

To Stretching, to What Stretches Us
I was in the desert alone the first time it happened. So this is how I go out, I thought (hyperbolically, but still).
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Holly Starley
48
To the Moon
And by that, I mean, To You
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Holly Starley
37
My Greatest Fear
Once, I lay in the rust green hull of a tin canoe. Fall had blown its cold breath into the trees, setting them ablaze. When I woke, a gentle rocking had…
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Holly Starley
52
I Give You Otters
This week, a side effect of one of the medications I’m on sort of hit me from out of nowhere.
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Holly Starley
100
Disagree Strongly
aka the Sound of a Million Wings Flapping in Unison—It feels like magic, doesn’t it, a group of individuals becoming not just united but shapeshifter?
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Holly Starley
74
Mourning Walk
Back in spring, I got all Buddha-eyed and accepted pain. Or said I did. A fantastic update and a heartbreak offered up on a scale.
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Holly Starley
59
Whales and Warblers and Human Hearts
What are we here for? What's enough?
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Holly Starley
78
Sometimes We Use a Sledgehammer, Sometimes We Give Tongue
Wind chimes chime. A neighbor dog bays. A seabird joins in. Do the voles have more sense than me?
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Holly Starley
94
From Ocean to Cloud
Cedar rafters in the ceiling guide my strokes—until I reach a cascade of sunlight spilling from a small, high window, and everything disappears. Whoa, I…
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Holly Starley
59
My Year of the "Locusts"
Let’s talk about how we’d answer, “How are you?” if the question meant, “No for real. What’s up for you?” Serious, silly, sad, outrageous, happy, a…
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Holly Starley
41
To the Pain
I want to share my new diagnosis so I can fully thank you for being an integral part of my unmitigated joy.
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Holly Starley
84
The Surface of Love, Battle, and Illness
Last week, a phlebotomist filled twelve vials before I could finish the Dilbert strip on the wall. Carmine clues delivered via MyChart predawn are only…
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Holly Starley
23
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