Poem: “Drug Problem”

The return of terrible poetry coincides with the continuation of terrible times.

There is a tightrope that I feel like many of us walk when it comes to being well-informed, being aware, being current, and also protecting our mental health, our psychological well-being, and our hearts. It’s so easy to become overwhelmed by the constant influx of badness, so easy to feel helpless in the face of it, while also succumbing to the guilt of looking away, indulging in a moment or two of self-care and/or happiness. It feels selfish.

However, it’s not. It’s not turning a blind eye. It’s self-preservation for the duration. Even when you’re waist deep in it, you have to find some speck of joy to sustain yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Take care of yourself.

A little couplet free verse on the subject.

Drug Problem

We were not meant to mainline the horrors.
It’s too easy to OD on uncut trauma.

Have a bump of joy, for god’s sake;
achieve a wholesome high

to stave off the jones
of needing to bear all the witness.

Detoxing on the reg
is the only way to survive

the oppressive addiction
of the powerful.