If this Poetic Interlude feels like a message or mirror, share it with someone who is looking to think about rest differently.
How has your lineage influenced how you rest? In this Poetic Interlude, Jasmine Vallejo-Love shares her poem “My Response When the Instructor Prompted Us to Craft a Poem About Flowers at a Time Like This” (first published in Pinch) and a reflection prompt on rest.
Creative expression is a portal to rest as liberation. Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest.
Settle into the work of Jasmine Vallejo-Love and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.
Poem: “My Response When the Instructor Prompted Us to Craft a Poem About Flowers at a Time Like This”
Hell with asking me to write about flowers / when we’re fighting for our right to exist / Unless
we’re speaking of sheroes / like Abuela Nana / who like a daylily is / perennial / surviving /
blooming / despite poor soil and neglect / nearly indestructible / With her backbone made of
Kevlar / that woman surmounted all the -isms / in a day and age that wanted her put down / Or if
we’re talking about Abuela Mama / a marigold / pest-resistant / even to her own husband /
smiling bright / despite the abuse / Sun and fun-loving / she danced and sang / every day anyway
/ Or maybe if you asked / about Mom / who moves through each season like a ninja / and
miraculously blooms / in the hardest conditions / a milk flower / breaking her way / through frost
/ I owe them / my voice / my resilience / They are the reasons I can endure / the heat of fascism
easier / like russian sage summons / the ancestors’ strength
Reflection
This poem speaks to how my ancestors and elders have endured and given me strength. How have those who raised you and/or come before you influenced the way you see rest and your relationship to it?
About the Poet
Jasmine Vallejo-Love is a disabled Afro-Puerto Rican American poet and writer raised in the Bronx and living in Los Angeles. Her work explores familial healing, love, and self-discovery, and engages with social issues such as mental illness, domestic violence, addiction, and sexual assault. Jasmine is a Diana Woods Memorial Award finalist, 2025 Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow, and was selected for workshops with PEN America’s Emerging Voices, VONA, and McCormack. Her work has been anthologized and appears or is forthcoming in journals such as Pinch, Lunch Ticket, and Cholla Needles. Jasmine’s work has also been selected for a Quippy Choice Award.
Website: https://vallejolovelife.com
Publications: The Pinch
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Meet the Host:
Dana Tenille Weekes
Dana Tenille Weekes made the conscious decision to live in a mindset of rest as self-liberation after nearly 15 years as a lawyer-lobbyist in Washington, DC. In 2020, Dana faced the darkest period of her life, which eventually led her to resign from a top global law firm and take a year-long journey of rest in 2022.
In 2023, Dana launched Thrive Architects, a strategic advising and professional development firm building advocacy, organizational health, and well-being platforms for organizations, communities, and people to thrive.
The Rest of Us podcast is one way Dana is building community for professionals and advocates on the brink of burnout to think about rest differently. If you’re interested in embracing rest as liberation, especially after the podcast episode ends, join our community where we converse, connect, cultivate, and lean into our creativity.