Jasmin Lankford
Jasmin Lankford is a poet, essayist, and teaching artist from Florida. She is the founder of Just Listen Journey. In addition to Pushcart Prize and Sundress Publications’ Best of the Net nominations, her work has been published online, in print, and in gallery exhibitions. Her latest essay was published at The Rumpus.
Jasmin graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and completed her Creative Writing Minor in France at the American University of Paris. Currently, she is studying Floral Design and Interior Design at the New York Institute of Art and Design. She works in social media marketing at AAA – The Auto Club Group and hosts a travel video series.
Featured Work
Published in The Rumpus: Voices on Addiction
Rumpus original art by Dimitry Samarov
“I’m Not Eating”
“I promise I’m not trying to die,” I tell my therapist, and she nods.
We both know I’m lying. It’s 2019, and we’re sitting on beanbag chairs on the floor in her Florida office. The room is cozy and dimly lit with rainbow lights. The rug beneath us looks like the galaxy, a mixture of midnight blue, cobalt, and turquoise with scattered stars.
Most of the walls are covered with paintings and picture frames. By the door, there’s a painting of an orange monarch butterfly perched on a pink flower. I use it as my anchor. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I silently stare at that painting to ground myself. With each glance, I concentrate on a different color, like the green grass or the blue sky. I look at it often, especially when we’re talking about the food I’m not eating.