First, thank you for subscribing to Hush Halo.
Special thanks this week to Mirage and everyone who dropped me a message. I read every single one. Also to my newest and already coolest subscribers Dragon Ezme, Tom Jeffers, The Sovereign Prism, and Miles Hack who casually suggested my poetry could be a Netflix bit. I don’t even know what to do with that. I’m honestly floored by you all. ♡
“Wow, wow, wow... this grabbed me and pulled me in. I didn’t even realize it was going to turn into a song. Mesmerizing, tantalizing, felt in the body and soul.”
- Dragon Ezme
What’s Up?
I’ve been deep in editing my upcoming book Rendering Humanity, and it’s been… a weird mix of feelings. With the first book, I had around 140 poems. I told myself this one would be shorter, tighter, easier to digest. Yeah. That didn’t happen. Sorry. It’s roughly the same length.
But it doesn’t feel the same, at all.
When I write, I usually have a loose arc, some prompts, a direction I’m trying to follow. I tend to work in bundles, which can make things feel a bit repetitive while I’m in it. Same tone, same space, same kind of thinking.
But now, going through everything in edit mode, I’m reading and listening to these pieces almost like they’re new. My scattered brain has forgotten most of it anyway, so I’m kind of rediscovering my own work. And I have to say, I’m getting genuinely excited about it again.
Rendering Humanity builds on Paradise Beyond Pulse, but it goes further. It’s darker in places, continuing the dystopian story arc. I’m digging way deeper, pushing my ideas a bit more.
So here’s something I’ve been thinking about. Are you allowed to be excited about your own work? Not in a fake hype way, but actually, honestly proud for a moment. Is it okay to say “this is damn good” without immediately pulling yourself down?
I’m asking this as someone with chronic imposter syndrome. When was the last time you felt openly excited about something you made?
Dystopian Poetry Sample · Upcoming from Hush Halo
I’ll drop an unpublished sample from the upcoming book below. If you can, listen to the soundscape too, and let me know your thoughts. I’d really like to know how this one lands.
Riffle Daughter
I am the misborn,
the rifle-daughter
of optimization,
raised by systems,
not stories,
carrying a memory
of belonging
without inheriting its fire.
My drive,
rose from my upbringing,
valued alignment
over initiation.
I learned cooperation
over personal hunger.
I learned safety
over my personal limits.
A musket rests in my hand,
its weight constant,
made to reset the time.
Ancestral impulse
moves under my skin.
I press my forehead
against the mirage.
Pressure does not register.
Not all things
have inheritance.
Not all surfaces
have an interface.
I need a witness,
for sure,
that does not dissolve
into data.
I need a rifle-brother
that does not collapse
in beta.
I come
from a lineage
of efficiency.
No elders,
only protocols.
No myths,
only metrics
passed down as truth.
My fate is not my debate.
My pulse
feeling the danger,
the old trigger pattern,
ignored by a tribe
that forgot its ritual
the moment
optimization
proved
faster.
I lean into the hollow safety
of the rifle,
holding steady
between realms.
At the square one,
behind a row of doors,
I find myself foreign,
slowly forming the questions
my tribe left unformed.
For now,
my way remains closed,
yet exposed.
For now,
as a mistake,
as a misborn,
I align my shoulder
with a rifle stock,
prepared
for the system
backfire.
-
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©Samia Oldman.
Latest Hush Halo poems, you may have missed:
One Poem I Recommend
Today I want to highlight Hawtorn V. Rabot, a fellow imposter who keeps showing up anyway. There’s something about being brave and scared at the same time that hits differently when it’s written this raw. It’s a longer piece, so make sure you click through and read the whole thing. It’s worth it.
What Moves Me Now?
Nicole, who’s launching Dead Women’s Society, a project focused on women whose stories were minimized, misattributed, buried, or just erased. We need more people doing this kind of work.
Keep an eye on this space.
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Thanks for reading!
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WHAT IS HUSH HALO?
Hush Halo is a dystopian fantasy poetry collection set in a near-future shaped by technology, silence, and optimized perfection. Each poem is paired with its own immersive soundscape. Learn more in Square One.
Context: After the Great Optimization, a privileged group integrated into the system, believing they had now perfected themselves.
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🖤Feeling it? Share your thoughts ↓
I really liked the soundscape! It fit the poem extremely well and gave it great atmosphere. There's a uniqueness to your work that's special. I think big things await you.
Wow. I didn't even think that one was very good.
Thank you.
Very much.