I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

we talked about the various colors of the sunset
but were never still enough to watch one together
we ran out of time and love
to watch poetry written in nature
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

youβre my small town Iβve outgrown but am afraid to leave
no one seems to understand this
theyβre concerned youβre holding me back
theyβre concerned staying with you stiffens my dreams
and while I know they want whatβs best for me
and I agree with most of what they say
How do I explain to them, itβs more complicated
than Iβve made it out to be
while you are hard to live with
life without you feels almost empty
and while itβs the right thing to do to end our marriage
so we can move forward as a family
itβs still hard to imagine a beginning without you
I wrote this poem in June of 2022.

I called you a villain in my book of lust and love
I never saw your humanity
I never understood how I played my part
in our chaotic and dysfunctional story of love
Instead it was easier to blame you over and over again
It was easier to play the victim
rather than try to accept you as the imperfect human that you are
Rather than to see how you never wanted a βwe;
rather than to accept you just wanted someone sometimes
to not feel so lonely
I wrote this poem in June of 2022.

Got two hours of sleep last night
But I still woke up with excitement in my bones
Excited about a future without you
Excited that youβre really gone from my life
Because while I loved you and had many good times
You were never going to change, and neither was I
We were on the road to nowhere
And now that weβre forever apart
Weβre on the road to somewhere
Somewhere that gives us space to grow
Somewhere without the pain and drama we caused each other
Somewhere that brings us the peace and love we need
to be authentic
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

today Iβm being too hard on myself
always thinking about how Iβm not doing enough
about how Iβm not hustling enough
how there are still days when my anxiety
gets the best of me
Iβve tried my hardest to quell my inner critic
but it still visits me when I donβt have enough sleep
or when my inner winter is about to hit
and it points out all of my insecurities
and I try to hack my brain into being confident again
but all I can do is feel disgust and shame
as a new cycle of insanity hits
And if it’s bad enough I cry
or it kicks me in the gut and makes me sick
and my body says enough is enough
thatβs when I finally listen to it-
rest, recharge, understand this is just one day
and not my whole life
I wrote this poem in June of 2020.

He knows how to reach me
in a way no one else can
his tentacles are embedded in me
and itβs hard to escape
Iβve tried and have succeeded
and felt a sense of freedom-
But then
His tentacles reach out
and grab me
it’s useless trying to free myself-
Heβs got a spell over
My mind, my body and my soul
He rules it with lips and his hands
And his body–
And his tentacles are encrusted deep within me–
Will I ever be truly free?
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

Our children pay attention to the stories we tell ourselves
I noticed when my sonβs heart broke for the first time
and it awakened a deep catharsis within me
I would no longer hold onto my victim story
the one where I tell myself,
βIβm worthless, Iβm not good enough, Iβm unlovableβ
Instead Iβll walk with confidence and all of the self love
I can muster up for myself
maybe just maybe if I can model this type of healthy behavior
the cycle of generational self loathing and self destruction
will finally be broken
And my children has a chance of living a life
filled with more joy and contentment
than mental illness
I wrote this poem in May of 2023.

this didnβt come easily but I finally love myself to the moon and back
it was a hard process after so many years of self loathing
and drowning in my insecurities
I was my own worst enemy constantly focusing and scrutinizing
Every single one of my imperfections
Ugh, Iβm too dumb or too fat or too old
Never did I see myself as a masterpiece of Godβs making until this year
and now Iβve grown to love and accept every version of myself
because despite of all of my mistakes and flaws
Iβm still worthy of all the love in the world
I wrote this poem in May of 2022.

These are the ingredients for emotional stability:
Stay away from love at all costs
Get enough sleep
Write, write, write
Exercise 3 times a week
Stay away from love at all costs
Meditate and practice mindfulness
Read, read, read
Spend time with my kids
Call my parents
Stay away from love at all costs
Masturbate
Listen to music to match my mood
Go to therapy
Cut down on alcohol
Stay away from love at all costs
I wrote this poem in May of 2022.

The sweetness of life has me on a euphoric high
where everything and everyone is wonderful
where nothing or noone can bring me down
And I feel like a goddess, a bad bitch, a Queen
I live for moments like this where happiness is my best friend
But then the sourness of life happens
and Iβm brought down to a hell of depression and despair
Where I hate everything and everyone
Where everything weighs me down
and Iβm losing my mind
And I feel worthless, crazy and like a selfish bitch
I wrote this poem in May of 2022.

I want to scream, I want to cry
I want to throw myself off the precipice of some cliff
but faith whispers to me
βYou will not always feel like thisβ
and slowly I begin to piece myself back together
and Itβs hard at first because I donβt know where to start
Because so much in me is shattered and scattered
But somehow I know that faith is by my side
and hope will quickly follow
and I wonβt always feel so lonely, so hopeless
I wrote this poem in May of 2022.

With my last rock bottom, I learned many things
I learned about the power of my strength and resilience
I learned how to be truly alone
I learned about self-love and how to feel enough
And I learned how maybe love isnβt for me
and all of these things were hard for me to learn
But after my last rock bottom
I came out a different person
A person who understands herself better
A person who stopped apologizing for who she is and is no longer afraid to be herself
I wrote this in May of 2022.

What’s the cost of being authentically me?
not everyone will like me, lovers will run away from me
I have a hard time finding someone who accepts me
but it’s fine, it’s okay
my worth means more to me than anyone
who wants me to swallow parts of myself
to accommodate to them
because my self-esteem means more than acting
like someone else’s dream
so maybe the cost of being truly me is low
compared to the parts of my true self
I would lose for false friendships and false loves