Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Beauty

When I say you are beautiful
I mean that you move me
Like a pebble tumbling through the sea
You capture my attention
Like ivy crawling up a cobblestone cottage
I dream of the intertwining of limbs
When I say you are stunning
I mean like a flash of lightening
Over a valley on a crisp spring evening 
Your edges so fierce and powerful
Set apart from the background of our sheets
When I say you are sweet
I mean like a field of flowers 
On a cool summer day
Your breath breezes my neck 
And I’m lost in your scent 
When I say you are lovely
I mean your eyes are like embers
Glistening and glowing
Sparking and crackling the fire that dances from the way you smile 
When I say you are delightful
I mean I am lost and found at the same time
Like a waterfall your love surges up 
And pours over me like I’m the bank edges below
When I say you are enticing
I mean that all the moments 
That I have experienced that are so pleasant 
Pale in comparison 
I mean that I can’t adequately use my senses
Or any words I know
To explain how you captivate my being
Drawing me in with wonder and joy
You are beautiful, you are sweet
You are stunning, you are lovely
You are enticing, you are delightful

Sunday, March 29, 2020

The mirror isn’t me


Sometimes I can’t get my brain
To fall into place
I try to close my eyes
And slow my heart rate to the pace
Of the sounds pumping in my ears
Desperately pleading internally
To let go of these fears
To rise above it all
To look in the mirror
And fucking get that
It’s truly me
So I blink twice, add a hat
But I’m still not me yet
Bend myself over the sink
Splash some water 
On my face and take a drink
Repeating the date over again
Sometimes it’s hard to explain
How much I fight to be to present
To be able use both body and brain 
Rub my eyes and shake my head 
Try to remove the haze
Trace my hand up my arm
Count the letters in the tattoos
Internal voices rage as I fight
Pleading with myself
“Please just let me be, alright”
I struggle whether to sit or stand
If I sit they surely will win
I feel my fist ball up
But it’s like I’m not there at all
Pain surges as I watch the knuckles bleed
“Was this what you need?”
There’s a laugh
A response echos from my throat
“Didn’t you like it though?”
The fight has removed itself from 
My mind and onto the door
Slamming my head 
Feeling the wood as it hits the pores
I shake, there’s a scream
“Hush now kiddos it’s okay”
Internal ushers move them away
Out of sight, but still in this 
Wretched mind
Peace isn’t something I easily find 
A voice bellows out from the depths
“Enough of this nonsense”
I crack my neck, smooth my shirt
And rise once more
I hear the music again
Blasting through my headphones
I look at the time and move on
There’s too much to do today...

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Remember December

Sometimes the holiday season 
Leaves a sour taste in my mind
Like a war head, so bitter
My brain plays tricks on me
Flashbacks grip at my shirt
And cling to my soul
But still I stand back up
Listen for the sound of the drum
And I continue
To have hope
Of something more
Something brighter
I reflect on how I used to shrug it all away
With a twisted face and quiet words
“Christmas just doesn’t work out for me”
This year emotions mixed hard
Like rocks grinding in a polisher
With every rough hit
There was a subtle smooth spot
I sat in a church
Staring at a cross
Reflecting and feeling everything move
Memories of good and bad
How much of my life happened 
Around tradition and religion
Yet there’s something about
Kneeling at a pew
That has always made me wonder
what love really means and 
Why sacrifice is related to it so often
The beauty in the story of a savior
And even at birth people giving their all
The wisemen and Shepards come in
But my favorite has always been
That little drummer boy
What a gift to play a beat that begins 
The March of a life here to save us all
I close my eyes to hear the tempo
To sink back into reality
I feel the pew against my back
Hear the bells of the kids
As joy to the world plays
And I think about my joys in life
Does Christmas really not work out?
Cause I come home each day
And I have some much
Maybe Christmas is more
Than presents and quick words
From rough relatives
Christmas is a rough time for me still
But I refuse to toss it all away
Because despite the pain
I can make more powerful 
Memories of joy and love

Presently stuck in the past

Paralyzed by emotions
Which is ironic
Because they pound through 
Me
Swift like an undertow
I choke down the tears
Trying desperately 
To ensure I show no fear
Sometimes words aren’t right
Like nothing could describe
The turmoil and muck
That churns my stomach
And unsteadies my heart
Breathing slowly
Rhythmic pattern
In hopes to ground
Shaking my head
And presenting with
A sour smile
The bitterness of memories
Dance on my tongue
And burn my senses
Blinding the current
Getting swept in the chaos
But pleading within
To not let me go there
Not again

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Worlds can melt...

I've thought of how to compare you to the sky
I've pondered on how many sunrises and sunsets my eyes have seen in this life
I've searched for words, in the past, to describe the colors, the swirls of hues that sizzle to and from the horizon
But, as I gaze at your lips the colors are more magnificent than those I've ever seen from the sky
The pinks and peach with a small freckle poking through, just enough that you have to really look to find it
The way your lips curl like the mountains I've stood by as the sun drifted from the sky
I thought about the night sky, the way the stars shimmer so bright
I've reflected on past meteor showers that light up the darkness with flashes of wonder and wishes
And then, your eyes, your eyes could beat out any night sky, the glistening look you give when you are excited
The sparkle that surges through them making the colors show at a depth further than the moon from this spot
I thought and thought about how I could compare you to the skies and galaxies
But how can you compare someone that is your whole world to something as small as galaxies
How could I explain to anyone how your love warms the darkest coldest day like the sun on a frosty December morning
How could I express how your words have more pull on my heart than the moon on the oceans, as I crash and pulse harder with each "I love you" whispered from your mouth

I want to be an astronaut for you, I want to explore and trace and discover everything I can about you
Until you are mapped on my body and soul forever, because you are always going to be brighter than the stars to me

Monday, July 30, 2018

PTSD

PTSD
Four letters
That can strike at any point
One moment you are out having a good time...And BAM!
Like a brick wall you run into it all
Those words, those memories
The felling won’t come off of you
Like seaweed it sticks to your dry skin
Cracking and covering you up
Crashing like a hurricane, but the forecast didn’t even call for rain
You try to shake it all off
But how do you remove rubble that is invisible?
How do you yell to others to let them know you’ve been trapped?
How do you handle the crushing weight on your chest?
Barely breathing to conserve your energy
Those four letters that stop my day so often...
One may question how four little letters can cause such strife
Until you are stuck in the past, trying desperately to get back to life
PTSD

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Pivotal puzzle points and Awareness

I've been contemplating all month (I know it's only five days into the month...) about whether or not I would write about this topic. But, today at work made the decision for me.

So I guess I'm going to start with some background information about my day and go from there. Today I woke up at six thirty after getting under four hours of sleep, I woke up miserable and exhausted and was bummed it was only Wednesday. I grabbed a banana and headed off to physical therapy. I had wrote down the wrong time and happened to arrive about thirty minutes before my appointment (actually thirty five because I cannot stand being late to anything). As I met with my physical therapist my mood lightened a little as we joked on my newest injury. I had a ten minute nap between therapy and preparing food for my day before work. Preparing food is like my least favorite task lately, I have switched to Gluten free due to my doctors thinking I might have Celiac disease (waiting on biopsy results still). I have been a mess since changing the diet, always hungry and irritable due to trying new foods (which means new textures). I got to work already spent for the day and sat down to think of how I could make my day easier. I work as a counselor at a congregate care facility ( in laymen terms a little more freedom than a group home for people with mental health diagnosis). About ten minutes into my shift the printer was broken and for some reason that was enough for me to not want to do anything. An hour goes by and I have a conversation that is the reason I will write today.

If you made it this far into my story bravo! Sometimes I add too much, or not enough, or irrelevant information. 

 I have written before of the struggles of having different physical and mental health issues. I have expressed the issues with having serve ADHD, with having a multi senses sensory processing disorder, with my recent physical health diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. There's one diagnosis though that I struggle to talk too much about. I have just started being proactive on different things I could utilize to help me perform any task to the best of my ability. I have been getting better at disclosing the appropriate information about why my mannerisms and behaviors aren't exactly like my neurotypical friends and coworkers. I have been called quirky, weird, unique, one of a kind, and many not so nice names because of how I act and react in day to day activities. I used to roll it off my back and not want to say the words, but here goes nothing, I am Autistic. I am on the spectrum and received an official diagnosis in college where I was terrified of what people would think if they knew. Within the past year though I have learned to embrace those words, to hold the power to educate and advocate to make my interactions easier on all parties involved. 


The year 1990, such an important one for so many reasons. One being I was born into this world, two (which is way more important) being the ADA ACT getting passed. Now flash forward into the present day, I am a counselor for a non-profit organization and I am someone who is covered under this ACT. My supervisor has been incredible with allowing some accommodations for my mental and physical issues that arise. I can use headphones when I can't focus on my billing, I can adjust my schedule accordingly to fit in all the doctors and physical therapy I need. Although today took the cake so to say for how she views accommodations. Today I was literally sliding off a coworker's chair in their office (trying to provide pressure to my back to help soothe me), two coworkers kinda questioned what I was doing. So me being me and being on the verge of a meltdown exclaimed how I was irritable and just wanted blankie time but I knew I couldn't have it until I got home. My supervisor had popped by at this point and I was asked what exactly blankie time was. I explained that just like I use headphones to help calm me or rock or walk around the office, I have this blankie that helps soothe me. I explained how the blankie overstimulates mutliple sensory inputs and I can take a few minutes with my blankie and it's like a factory reset. I become much more calm and relaxed and can better handle situations. My supervisor nonchalantly stated that I could bring my blankie to work as it was a reasonable accommodation. I COULD BRING MY BLANKIE TO WORK!!! This was a game changing statement for me. Since I had disclosed about me being on the spectrum, since they have seen me work better on rough days from other accommodations, since they have taken time to understand that sometimes I just need to adjust my environment so I can thrive at my job, since the ADA ACT is not just a piece of paper to them, I can accommodate in ways that will really show how good I can be in my position.
And that folks is why a month exists for awareness, because they are aware they can accommodate. Because of accommodations I have been able to show my full abilities as a counselor, I was promoted quickly in the company, I was able to impress the director and higher ups in with my work, and most importantly I am able to function well enough so I can advocate and assist my clients in all the areas they need.