Day after day
we fall into routines
that may or may not
be good for us.
Tag: mental health
acknowledge struggles
Acknowledge struggles,
show yourself self-compassion.
These feelings will pass.
more than self care
I take at least a dozen breaths,
formulate in my mind what I want to say
typing it out,
erasing, and typing it out again.
This is a safe space.
I ask the question.
How do you know when
you need more than just self care?
Reactions range from widened eyes,
to nodding heads and note-taking,
but him; he offers empathy.
We hardly ever need an engine replacement;
maybe it’s just an oil change or a tire rotation that we need.
Muted on the microphone,
I tremble and quiver in my thick wool sweater
as a tear slides off my cheek
and lands on the keyboard.
Acknowledge the pain
Acknowledge the pain
Identify the struggle
Let them see your fight.
managing
The moment after I tell someone
‘I’ve been managing really well lately’
my brain flips that hidden switch
and I fall backwards
wondering
just how well I was managing, at all.
The fight rages on.
Fighting against a force within me,
I cannot see it
nor assign it a name.
It urges me to retreat, recluse,
hide away from you, and me,
promising me peace and tranquility.
I feel another figure
rise up to the challenge,
rationalizing with me against every promise.
‘You know better than this’,
‘You are stronger than this’,
‘You must overcome this on your own’.
I listen to the rational voice
and head its advice,
but the other, deeper voice still calls out to me.
The fight rages on.
Be fooled not
Be fooled not
by the bright sunshine and clear sky
for the cold air kills skin
and shadows still loom
where the sun cannot reach.
burn again
Just because a candle isn’t burning
doesn’t mean it can
or will
no longer burn again.
I cannot lose myself
Even if
I must sit here for hours
waiting for my mind to find stable ground
and step off the race track,
I will wait
as long as it takes.
If I do not wait for myself,
what I lose
is me.
rough days
Everyone has rough days
days they wish no one would ever see
and maybe
it works out that you don’t see those days
for them
but they see those days
for you.
You cannot see a person
for brief moments of time
and believe you know everything about them.
Dawning Words 