1191: For Mac Miller and 2009 by Kayleb Rae Candrilli

Today’s poem is For Mac Miller and 2009 by Kayleb Rae Candrilli. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Because of my family’s addiction issues, I spoke out of fear to my children, and often rather harshly. I worried particularly that they would fall prey to the opioid epidemic that hit the state of Vermont, a fentanyl crisis as severe as the rest of the country. Several friends grieved the loss of children to overdose. I wish I had told my children of my casual experiment with drugs, moments that scared me so much I knew if I went further I would not survive. But it turns out I did not need to reference my journey. The music they listened to, and the rappers they admired spoke about a life they could only picture in their heads, which was ironic and a blessing. The music did not merely glorify drugs but mourned the demise of artists, storytellers, friends, and collaborators.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp