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Loss is the absence of something that used to be; it can be sudden or gradual, but it is an inevitable facet of life. Loss can be an overwhelming fear for many people, but it can also be an opportunity to start anew. We can adapt to newfound absence to the point where our pain is eased—even appreciated. This becomes the foundation we must use to continue creating. What unites our contributors is that they have all arrived at a moment where they can observe this loss, in its various forms, from a distance and create meaning from it.
Our three poems illustrate how coping with loss can come with its own struggles—whether it is mourning your past self, recognizing your love for someone through their absence, or facing discrimination in a new country. Our art piece demonstrates how creation comes from building and rebuilding and finding joy in the small things. Our submissions reveal that we must reckon with loss in order to appreciate life.
The team at Inventio would like to thank our wonderful contributors—Lauren Russell, Malak Elghobashy, and Rosemary Jaramillio—for sharing their talent with us. We hope you enjoy this issue.
—Written by Ayyub Hussain
Edited by Dunja Dudarin, EiC, and Jessica Lappin, AEiC
“Ignorance” explores the experience and sacrifices of a child in a first-generation immigrant household in Canada. Through their discovery of basketball, the speaker examines how dreams are crushed and born as they face discrimination in a new country.
In “long distance,” the writer reflects on the feeling of unrequited love and the emotional distance they feel towards someone that amplifies their yearning for the connection they crave.
“field of regret” expresses the speaker’s dismay over losing their youthful glow as they grow into a sorrowful adulthood.
“I was inspired to create this album cover for the song ‘Favourite Things’ in p5.js after hearing Pentatonix’s version of it. The most memorable lyrics of the song, ‘raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,’ became my foundation and reference for my artwork…”