Note from the editor

The Poetry of Necessity is where I put what I can’t hold in. These poems aren’t polished artifacts or attempts at literary prestige — they’re survival signals. I haven’t written any sort of poetry since I was in high school and I don’t claim to be any good at it, nor do I hold myself out as a poet. But right now, this is one of the ways I’m finding to cope with a world on fire. I write from the tension between what’s happening in the world and what’s happening inside me. Sometimes angry, sometimes heartbroken, sometimes hopeful, but always necessary. I write because I need to. I write because the world demands it. I write for anyone who’s overwhelmed, disillusioned, stretched thin by injustice, or trying to remember what it feels like to care deeply and still keep going. This collection isn’t just about poetry. It’s about paying attention. It’s about naming what hurts and imagining something better. If any of it resonates with you, I hope you’ll stay a while.