TO KNOW SOLITUDE by Devon Webb (New Zealand, 25)

​Making peace with my loneliness has been an extended process
I have always been romantic & there has always been a yearning
for the kind of understanding that runs deep
the kind of companionship that doesn’t diminish or detract
but alas, it has been my place to know solitude

& what of the peace in that
what of the great kinship I feel with my own soul
what of the time, the investments I have made into my indestructible self-adoration
what of when I was drowning & held my own hand & found land again
what of my stubborn survival
what of the way I find such beauty in a dream & such
freedom to go out & seek it
what if I build it inside me like a
fantasy in my own name
what if all these years I was looking for a lover
there’s one who never left me.





Devon Webb is a 25-year-old poet & writer based in Aotearoa. She writes full-time, exploring themes of femininity, sexuality, youth & vulnerability. She shares her poetry online, through live performance, & has been published both locally & internationally. She is the two-time Wellington Slam Poetry Champion, & is currently working on the final edits of her debut novel The Acid Mile. Her work can be found on Instagram, Facebook & TikTok at @devonwebbpoetry, & on Twitter at @DevTalks_nz.