Dear Lily Allen, Thank You For Everything.

I’d best describe my current state as “alright, still…”

Dear Lily,

I hope all is well. To borrow a lyric from Prince’s “1999,” I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray. But, in editing it, I’m absolutely awake, and proudly present in this moment. Again, thanks for everything.

Sincerely,
Marcus K. Dowling

When I was 28, I began to feel my life slippin’ into Freudian darkness. I was ten years past my private high school education, just moved into a rat and roach infested suburban apartment complex, yet was also earning more money than I’d ever made in my life. It was all so mad, so absurd. Every day, my mind, body, and soul were becoming so disjointed due to the extraordinarily varied nature of my existence. In retrospect, all of this was stripping me emotionally raw, and down to my core essence: id, ego, and superego. And then, I discovered you, Lily Allen. Since then, all has somehow remained alright, still, in my altogether not right world.