Ward
Stories
A
column organized by Dan Frey, Interim Poetry Editor
Jeffrey
Perry, a peer advocate of many years, wrote an op-ed titled “Recovery
is the Level of Happiness We Obtain” for the summer 2013 edition of
NYC Voices. You can learn more about him and his work at:
http://www.jeffreyvperry.com.
Andrea
shared her work with Voices for the first time. Her poem is darker,
but from the heart, about the struggles many people have when they
live with mental illness.
Stigmas
Are Not Imagined
Stigma
is not imagined
Stigma
is very true and really real.
Stigma
is not just an outside force,
Stigma
is something one can also feel.
Sometimes
thoughtless people do mistake
And
call fixation with stigma, just a fake.
Often
billions are spent for the system’s sake,
For
not knowing the prices stigmas do take.
We
cannot account for stigma’s heartache
Or
the loss love missed from stigma’s heartbreak.
In
the first rule of Sociology,
You
are not to blame any poor victim.
Mental
health is a chief priority,
Not
to be treated any less for some.
Symptoms
too, are real and take their toll,
On
those who know their continuous hold.
One
needs more than clout to stay in the door,
While
witnessing the pain one may endure.
Do
not be deceived by what you work for.
Forget
not this clouded vale none adore.
Remember
through hurt, we open that store.
Our
products are on the shelves at our core.
With
all stigmas and symptoms that prevail,
Recovery
is still a bright light that shines well.
Where
Do I Go From Here?
By
Andrea
Where
do I go from here?
That’s
always the question
My
heart, my soul, my life
The
fear just keeps coming
Where
do I go from here?
I’m
lost, forever floating
The
love I should feel for myself
It
does not exist, and it will never surface
Where
do I go from here?
Others
think they know
They’re
so high and mighty
But
their wisdom cannot match my demons
Where
do I go from here?
The
answer is inevitable
Hell
on earth is waiting
I
will suffer to live…I will suffer to die
Where
do I go from here?
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