Hi Carol, thank you so much. I actually ask myself the same questions. And do not for a second think you don’t matter. You do, you really do. I appreaciate you. - Shain
Hey Sae, thank you as always. I am always glad to hear from you. I wrote this because of a failed attempt at self deletion(I think that’s the words they use now isn’t it) . I hope you didn’t have to go through that pain.-Shain
Hey Sae. I (obviously) have no way of knowing which exact place you have in mind, but everything Shain makes available for us to read also brings me to an environment forever carved in my veins. (Hope you don’t think I’m being intrusive...)
Thank you for sharing that so beautifully. No intrusion here just the quiet power of words connecting us across unseen places and memories. I’m grateful you feel that with Shain’s writing.
Hey Miriam, right back at you. And if by they you mean life I totally agree. It has not only opened old wounds but it has also given me new ones, constantly-Shain
Not because it dramatises pain, but because it refuses to. No crescendo. No clean narrative arc. Just that dense, choking hum of existence when everything feels off-tune—when you’re not burning, not breaking, not even visible. Just still here. And that? That’s a horror most people can’t metabolise, let alone write with this kind of unflinching clarity.
It’s rare to find work that speaks not to collapse but to the glitch before collapse. The limp, echoing drag of the days where you’re still performing, still parenting, still answering emails—and yet, inside, it’s white noise and damp ash. Wrong Frequency doesn’t ask for attention. It just names what too many of us carry in silence.
I've tried to articulate this state across my own work—especially in the Liturgy of the Burnt Out series. We’ve had endless poems for the ones who fall. But what about those of us who don’t—who just keep moving, half-alive, half-faking, still somehow turning up? There’s no language for us in the heroic burnout canon. No anthem for the ones who stay standing out of obligation, not strength.
You gave it language. You gave it shape.
And in doing so, you gave some of us a mirror we didn’t know we needed.
Hey rob thank you for you comment. I agree that there’s no arc, and I didn’t do make that decision. It’s because what I have lived through, showed me that there’s no clean and clear ending. I just wrote my own thoughts . I can only say what I’ve lived through. I refuse to perform. I know what was going through my mind when I wrote this I wanted to join 27 club. And I did try multiple times and failed. Appreciate the comment-Shain
This absolutely wonderful. I don’t think that you lost the map. To me you have found your niche and I personally think- if I could only write as poetically and profoundly as that- I’d be on top of the world. Thanks for sharing your white light frequency. Solfeggio frequencies take a back seat after thisThank you
Hey Sandra, apologies for the very late reply, I fell asleep really early last night. You know the emagality jab that I had to take yesterday it made me so lethargic. I was supposed to do a power nap, twenty minutes turn into hours. Let’s see if we can remake a new map with everyone-Shain
Raw and unfiltered but exquisite expression, sir.
You express how I feel at 63.
How did I get here?
Where is me?
I ask this question almost every day.
Not to be selfish, or self righteous, or self centred, but I feel sad and irrelevant when once I mattered in the smallest possible way at 23.
Who am I?
Kindest regards
Carol Power
Johannesburg
South Africa
Hi Carol, thank you so much. I actually ask myself the same questions. And do not for a second think you don’t matter. You do, you really do. I appreaciate you. - Shain
Thank you so much for your precious response, sir.
Kindest regards
Carol
I felt this to the bone as i read it. I feel like this often. Glad to know I’m not alone.
You aren’t alone, welcome. -Shain
With my joining you and Shain, that already makes three of us.
The more the merrier, I love it.-Shain
Shain, it’s like every line was written from a place I know. I feel it deeply.
Hey Sae, thank you as always. I am always glad to hear from you. I wrote this because of a failed attempt at self deletion(I think that’s the words they use now isn’t it) . I hope you didn’t have to go through that pain.-Shain
Hey Sae. I (obviously) have no way of knowing which exact place you have in mind, but everything Shain makes available for us to read also brings me to an environment forever carved in my veins. (Hope you don’t think I’m being intrusive...)
Thank you for sharing that so beautifully. No intrusion here just the quiet power of words connecting us across unseen places and memories. I’m grateful you feel that with Shain’s writing.
Your words are like blood from a wound they tear open. Painful, but full of pure life at the same time.
Hey Miriam, right back at you. And if by they you mean life I totally agree. It has not only opened old wounds but it has also given me new ones, constantly-Shain
Wow, Shain.
I needed to read this.
Not because it dramatises pain, but because it refuses to. No crescendo. No clean narrative arc. Just that dense, choking hum of existence when everything feels off-tune—when you’re not burning, not breaking, not even visible. Just still here. And that? That’s a horror most people can’t metabolise, let alone write with this kind of unflinching clarity.
It’s rare to find work that speaks not to collapse but to the glitch before collapse. The limp, echoing drag of the days where you’re still performing, still parenting, still answering emails—and yet, inside, it’s white noise and damp ash. Wrong Frequency doesn’t ask for attention. It just names what too many of us carry in silence.
I've tried to articulate this state across my own work—especially in the Liturgy of the Burnt Out series. We’ve had endless poems for the ones who fall. But what about those of us who don’t—who just keep moving, half-alive, half-faking, still somehow turning up? There’s no language for us in the heroic burnout canon. No anthem for the ones who stay standing out of obligation, not strength.
You gave it language. You gave it shape.
And in doing so, you gave some of us a mirror we didn’t know we needed.
Thank you.
— Rob
#LotBO | postc4p.substack.com
Hey rob thank you for you comment. I agree that there’s no arc, and I didn’t do make that decision. It’s because what I have lived through, showed me that there’s no clean and clear ending. I just wrote my own thoughts . I can only say what I’ve lived through. I refuse to perform. I know what was going through my mind when I wrote this I wanted to join 27 club. And I did try multiple times and failed. Appreciate the comment-Shain
Is like diving into the deepest parts of your soul - deep, very deep.
Thank you Ociel, I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on this piece. -Shain
This absolutely wonderful. I don’t think that you lost the map. To me you have found your niche and I personally think- if I could only write as poetically and profoundly as that- I’d be on top of the world. Thanks for sharing your white light frequency. Solfeggio frequencies take a back seat after thisThank you
Hi Phillip thank you so much. I will always try my best to express myself. I am glad you enjoyed it. -Shain
Very reflective, almost despairing but raw and open. Our self esteem can never be tied to anything but Christ. Keep writing. 😊
Thanks Donald, I appreciate you giving me a chance. -Shain
Intense
Hey Sandra, apologies for the very late reply, I fell asleep really early last night. You know the emagality jab that I had to take yesterday it made me so lethargic. I was supposed to do a power nap, twenty minutes turn into hours. Let’s see if we can remake a new map with everyone-Shain
I always down to trying something new!! -Shain
I'm bad at geography but I am game if you are-Shain
THat sounds fun!-Shain
Me too, it’s gonna be awhile but as long it isn’t permanent I am grateful. Thank you as always.-Shain