Friday, June 20, 2014

Ward Stories A column organized by Dan Frey, Interim Poetry Editor

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
By Jeffrey Perry
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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