Did you, too?
Have you been there?
Do you, really?
Thank you.
I’m glad you’re here.
I’m glad I’M here.
This is work.
I want to get better.
I wish I could sleep.
I sleep too much.
I’m ready to commit to that.
I’m ready to quit.
I trust you.
Thank you for being there for me.
A light twinkles
In the distance;
It is my hope,
Fragile, yet strong.
Will a big gust of wind
Blow out my candle?
I am protected
By many walls:
Meds, doctors,
Counselors, family,
Friends and helpers.
That gust of wind
Can blow if it must,
But my light will not
Be extinguished.
I will use
The tools I’ve been given.
I will continue the struggle,
And I will win.
Experience.
A light bulb turns on.
Words flow like breathing.
Comfortable.
Fellow warriors
Keeping each other company.
Along for the ride,
Together.
Be there for you,
Whenever you need someone.
Any time, any place.
Trust me.
I’ll hold out a light
So you can see your way.
Brothers and sisters
Of mental illness.
Strong.
Miles of smiles cramp my style.
I sing because I’m drunk, I say.
Nothing to worry about.
The same old message, coming clean.
The same old, same old everything.
Can you tell I’d rather be there?
Can you see the when and the where?
I care about her much,
All her loved ones and such.
I am just not in synch.
I’m trailing badly. That’s what I think.
If you’ve got a bit of luck,
You can help me get unstuck.
If you think that there is hope
I’ll be gliding down a slope.
I will trust the good God’s keeping.
You won’t catch me if I’m weeping.
I’ll make sure there is a gift.
It’s such a thrill. My face will lift.
We’ll provide a settlement.
Would you like a candy spearmint?
Sharing smothered thoughts,
Restricted feelings abound.
Hesitation rules the imagination,
Hiding from the truth,
Although it tortures me.
Yearning for stability,
Some kind of consistency.
If only I could have it both ways!
Heavy thoughts
And sinking feelings
Got me caught up
In a sea of sadness.
I wish she knew,
Only a good friend
Tells the truth,
Even when you
Don’t want to hear it,
Even when you
Don’t believe it.
Someone who cares
Doesn’t lie to your face
Just to make you feel good.
It’s hard to be that
Kind of friend,
Because you risk
The friendship.
But if you lie,
There’s no friendship
To lose.
When I turn my eyes in your general
Direction, and rest my gaze on your face
Or body, just for a moment; and in that
Moment, you catch my eye with yours,
Do you wonder what’s going through my
Head, what I’m feeling, why I’m looking?
I wish I knew. But it just happens. Ouch.
Searching for that connection.
Where is he? She? It?
Where or who is God,
When I am here, in this broken
Body, groveling before the pain
Of existence, desperate for some
Type of relief, some release
From the slavery of my body?
My heart aches. My soul cries out
For mercy, but where is my God?
Where is that freedom, that grace,
That hope, that love, that I once knew?
Where is my identity in Christ?
Where is my savior?
All I know right now is suffering.
Is that you, Lord?
Am I meeting you where you are,
Where you were on that cross?
And if so, what will be the victory?
What great battle is going on?
Is my soul the battleground?
Is my heart the prize?
Is this what it takes to bring me
Back into your fold?
To break me, mold me,
Shape me into something beautiful?
But I have been here before.
I have been broken.
Must I be continually broken
In pain and suffering?
What are you trying to teach me?
And where are you taking me now?
Deep down, I dig to the bottom.
What lies in this hidden depth?
Fear, grief, rage, confusion…
It rocks my reason, clouds my vision.
But what is the answer?
Where is the road out of this darkened wood?
Is it faith? Trust? Logic? Courage? Peace?
Is Love the answer? Where will it take me?
Right now everything is scary.
I feel caught in a cage,
In chains, buried deep underneath
Miles of ground, isolated by time,
Place, and no relationships that bring
Relief, connection, revelation, peace.
Anxiety rules the roost, it conquers all.
Fear is my father, abandonment is my mother.
Rage is my brother, grief is my sister.
This is my family. My friends are shadows,
Ghosts in a mist that only evaporate in my
Hands when I reach out to hold their hands.
I am lost in my mirrors, erroring in my program,
Nothing makes sense, nothing works.
What is the truth? Who is my savior?
From where does my salvation come?
