therapy through poetry

November 3, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

jazz
big
full
jazz
sweet
funky
jazz
reminds me of nola
reminds me of halloween
reminds me of the 1920’s
reminds me of phryne fisher
reminds me of a time and a place and a storyline
when, maybe, i’d have wanted to be alive

October 19, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i keep having
a day or two
of respite
from my utter desolate sadness
that makes me think that
maybe
maybe
maybe
it’s over
maybe
maybe
maybe
i got through it
maybe
maybe
maybe
i can actually
do this thing called
life

but then it comes back
and
i’m so damn sad

October 14, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i keep having ideas for poems
and then leaning away from them

i think i’d like to hibernate
until spring comes

but what if spring
and summer
and early fall
all continue like this—
terrible news
no end to covid in sight
[though people try as they might
to ignore all the facts and findings]
death
and destruction
and feeling hopeless and helpless to stop it
unrelenting
unrelenting
i feel like i need a hibernation
until my next
life

October 7, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i wish i knew
exactly what my body needs.
like, is it consistent sleep?
[if it is, then why won’t it let me rest?]
is it a full, balanced meal?
[if it is, why do i get nauseous half the time
looking at food that isn’t a
comfort?]
is it socialization
and people and
connecting?
[if it is, why must my nervous system
react so poorly whenever i’m around
anyone anyone anyone?]
is it something new that i haven’t even thought of yet?
[if it is, why am i so scared to do
anything?]

October 4, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

meander into my life
and i’ll appreciate you forever/
meander out and i’ll still
talk about you
lovingly
from time to time to time/
force your way in, and i’ll find space
in my heart
for everything you have to say
and everything you represent/
but force your way out
and i’ll never ever ever ever
ever ever forgive you

~~~

the trauma and angst is heavy this morning
and yet it feels brighter
and happier
than mornings have been
lately

~~~

capture the light of life
in poetry
and maybe
life will capture you
and kiss you
and place you back
gently
into the light

September 22, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the disappointment i feel in my own government
in my own daily interaction with the people of this country
or even the world

maybe i should start writing fiction more
just to be able to be around the people i enjoy
and in spaces where i’m not
constantly hounded by the existential depression of
“this could be so much better
but it just
isn’t”

September 18, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

poem to-do lists
and poem “i love” lists
and very few true poems this morning
but i suppose that’s what these morning pages are for —
just get out of your brain what’s been clogging it lately, and do it
in poetry’s form;
for that is what you love
and what connects you most to the you that you are
and to the you that you’d like to be, even if you don’t know who
that you truly is
yet