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Poetry Archive
Fighting Substance Use and PTSD with Poetry
Recent Poetry Submissions
“A dissociate has to do what a dissociates has to do…”
No longer recognizing my face So I light a smoke, take a breath, and pour one moreMy back turned I slam the glass on the bar Pushing open the door, I'm sprayed with rain Without hesitation the sky booms and shakes the floorHer boots ain't waterproof anymoreYet she's walking out the door and into the storm
By Lillian Archibald
Neural Pathways: Fighting substance use challenges and PTSD with poetry
I have intrusive thoughtssuch as blowing my head offOr shoving someone I loveOr smashing a ticking clockI see stairs I hear diveWondering if I'm losing my mindLike a snapshot these images flash across my eyesWhen I hear the thoughts my skin turns to iceBut fragile and thin it isIf I take the time to blink I could skip inI'll tighten my laces and try to run throughMy plan isn't full proof
By Lillian Archibald
Mind clouded like a thick august fogJust trying to carry myself alongPutting comforters above my head to avoid the dayLighting a cigarette and forgetting it in the traySometimes I forget my own nameAnd the only reminder I have is a picture in a frameCracked sidewalks and bluejay feathersAnd the smell of summer nights in the moonlights shelter
By Anonymous
I’m Very, Very Loud
Fighting Substance Use Challenges and PTSD with Poetry
I am deaf,But I'm very, very loud,Proud to have served,Only memories of sound,
A roadside bombFound my team,I was hurt,My whole team died,
I am blessed,And more alive than I’ve ever been,Full of passion,And above the din.
I am deaf,But I'm very, very loud,Proud to have served,Only memories of sound,
A roadside bombFound my team,I was hurt,My whole team died,
I am blessed,And more alive than I’ve ever been,Full of passion,And above the din.
Thanks to Someone
by Elizabeth Z.
Past ten, when the lights start fading,A flickering from the blurred-out glass windowIn its calmness was reaching me,Numbing all the hurt life has ever been. Kept on looking and looking for the calm,In the hopes of being numb again,Little by little, body’s failing,Lost myself just for the numbing, Enough is enough, or soul will soon be dying.Reason still unknown, hurts went back again,Still thanks to someone,I learned to accept the pain.
Rain Rain
By Jason from the Bay
Rain rain, go away?Why?The rain is beautiful. Pitter patter,Drip drop,Splatter, splatter,Outside my window.HELPS ME while sleeping,Perhaps GOD is weeping.Washing away the sins of the world.Rain rain, go away?Why?The rain is beautiful.
Castaway By Lillian Archibald
A severed cord that no longer plays her hymn,Horizontally haunting me as I spiral down intoA thick black tarry pool that whirls so loudly,It's like the whole world can only howl,For a little girl who's buried her soul in soil,And has rotted into an abyss.
No matter how many fingers and hands reach to the underneath,It's too dimly lit to see,And the chains around her anklesHave sunken her; a castaway into the deep.
No matter how many fingers and hands reach to the underneath,It's too dimly lit to see,And the chains around her anklesHave sunken her; a castaway into the deep.
The Artist and the Audience by Elizabeth
Life is art and luck,Every day we perform a special role,Play a part,In real time,
Drugs are too oftenThe medium,Between the artistAnd the audience,
Hoping not to die another day,Hoping for a piece worth painting ,A life worth living,Hoping to find a better way.
Drugs are too oftenThe medium,Between the artistAnd the audience,
Hoping not to die another day,Hoping for a piece worth painting ,A life worth living,Hoping to find a better way.
Painkillers by Elizabeth
Uncertainty in every breath Down the unfathomable valley Throbbing temple sides Gentleness leading to demise. “Halt!” A voice from above Striking the heart and all the flesh “Ample dosage of green ray, will put your mind to rest.”
As We Begin Again
My son is six,I pick him up from CPS today, I will forever be sorry, we caused so much pain
His mother left when he was three,
Me, I put a needle in my vein.
We robbed his early childhood,
But that was then, and this is now,
I’m clean one year, I’m nervous but good,I have a place we can call home,
And for eight months, I have a job I like.
I can’t undo the things I’ve done,
I know I need to build his trust,I’m nervous cause I have one shot,It’s a whole lot for the both of us,But finally I am stepping up.
He so deserves unconditional love,And above all else to feel secure,I’m ready, excited, and I’m so sure
We are two who will celebrate as one family,So we begin again as father and son.
My Heart Stopped
I am eleven, my brother’s fifteen,He’s using bad drugs, he has this blank stare,
We have nowhere to hide, we are always in fear,
Our father’s a drunk, he’s abused us for years,
My brother is zoned, and he just doesn’t care.
The fight tonight was really loud,
My brother protected me whenever he could,We should have run away with Mom,
Something crashed as it hit the ground,
Then suddenly, there was no sound.
The quiet was broken, pop pop, pop pop,I came out of my room and my heart stopped,
My brother had a gun at his side,He looked up, cold eyes, he started to cry,
Our father is bleeding, we sat watching him die