Voices

So many
Voices
Telling me

I am

Not good
Enough
 
And the gifts
I have to offer
Are meaningless

So many voices
And the irony
Of it all

Is that the loudest

Of the voices
Is mine

Endure

Sometimes
Hard things
Come to us
In life

For no

Particular
Reason

That can only be

Walked through

Crawled through

Endured

And other times

Good things
Come to us
In life

For no clear reason

That make us smile

At our good fortune

 

The good

And the bad

Just come

 

And when they come
We are invited
By life

To endure our hardships
To enjoy our good fortunes

Whatever
The case
May be
  

 

 

Maybe Now It's Time

Maybe now
It’s time

For what

I’m not sure

But my heart says

Open your eyes

And my soul says

Be ready

And who

Am I
Not to listen

Lacks Mercy

This world
Lacks mercy

Which is confusing

Because mercy
Is free

And healing

And needed

So why then

Are we so
Stingy with it

With something intended
To wash us over clean
And make us
Well

Tether

When the mind
Is not free

The world within

Threatening

I wish for a tether

From him to me

And a tether

From me
To reality

Would be nice

If it were all
That easy

True

I cringe sometimes
When people tell me
What is true

In a way

That’s true only
For them

Because

If what

You believe

About God

Isn’t true

For everyone
Every day
Of the year 

Then
It is not
True

If what is true
The day
Your house
Was built
Isn't true
The day your house
Burns down

It isn’t

True

 

If what is true

The day

Your baby

Is born

Isn't true

The day your baby

Is lost

It isn’t

True

Still it’s hard

For people
Who are sure

That their true

Is truer
Than mine

To admit that

Lives are different

Making thoughts

On truth
Different too

Song

In my heart

An unformed song

Waiting to be sung

 

Not now

 

Because of course

What even

Would it be

 

But soon

Let’s Stop

Please
Let’s stop
Telling people
What their reaction
To pain
Should be

When we

Haven’t lived
That pain
 
Please instead
Let’s listen better
To the stories
They are telling

Let’s look on

Their authenticity
With awe
 
And when
Our time comes

Pray to God

That we will be able
To live our own pain
Half as well

Talked Over

Talked over

Looked through

Unheard
Though words
Were spoken

Invisible
Though always
Here

Unheard
And
Invisible

Yet somehow still
I heard me

Somehow still
I saw me

Somehow still
I found me

Front Porch

They stand
On the front porch
With gentle breezes
And birds singing
And tell me
This is life
Really

I invite them

Inside
Past the front door
Where it is dim

They won’t come

So I am left

To explain
That on the inside
Walls are collapsed
Ceilings are sagging
There is no air
And this is
Also life
Really

I invite them inside

But they won’t come in
And risk losing
Their front porch
Gentle breeze view
Of the world

Refusing

Front door entry
Which protects them
From the knowledge
Of what exists
Beyond it

Solidifying their
What is true
On the porch
Is true
Everywhere
Resolve

Not budging

From the front porch
 
Not walking
Past the front door

Safe

On the front porch
Though the house
It’s attached to
Is falling

Blood Runs Cold

First
Your blood
Runs cold

Then
You make
Your feet move

And you do

And you solve
And you comfort

And you get

The people
You love
The help
They need

Only later

Do you
Feel

And when you do

The feelings
Take you
To the ground

Where you stay

Until you
Remember
How to breathe
 
And when you are ready
You inhale
And rise up

And steady yourself

For whatever
Your mentally ill loved one
Needs next