Beneath the rock slide
I lie gasping.
So many stones squashing
the life out of me,
Covid, isolation, tension,
anxiety in others,
illness, recent deaths,
responsibility, each a
pebble piled
until breathing seems
an impossibility.
Where is the safety crew
to clear the debris
so we can be well,
be free of despair,
be who we used
to be.
Crushed December 15, 2021
poem-preservation June 10, 2019
We need to be respectful
of tender psyches, mental illness,
all the agonies of existence.
We need to be respectful
of our own tenderness
and pained existence.
When being gentle of their tender troubles,
makes aches worse for ourselves,
who needs to respect whom?
Draw battle lines,
or at least find a bastion
against cries
calling you to your destruction,
dragging you to drown in the moat of their fragility.
Be respectful of your own precious sanity.
poem- hovering February 18, 2016
It’s a shadow
she can’t quite see,
just behind her head.
A sensation of suspicion
quickening between
her shoulder blades.
A darkness settling in
a midnight coloured cape.
Oppressive premonitions
that demand she hides, fades away.
No energy for fight or flight
when confronting the black horror
of night.
poem-like June 1, 2015
Like
attracts
like.
Happiness
brings
happiness.
Choose
your
poison?
Me,
I
like
laughter.
poem-choose strong May 26, 2015
You can not choose the circumstance
that fights to keep you down,
but you can choose how you respond;
you can choose to be strong.
Whatever trauma shatters you,
Whatever hurts you feel,
The weakness is just temporary;
You have the strength to heal.
.
.
.
A fitting conclusion to yesterday’s poem, today’s piece reflects the message of Robb Nash and his band who played for the high schools of Salmon Arm today. I’m glad to part of Shuswap Rotary which supported Robb’s visit. Read more about Nash’s astonishing life story and inspirational work here: http://www.robbnash.com
poem-weak February 2, 2015
Is it because
you can not bear your own weaknesses
that you are so angry
faced with others’ weakness?
In your fervent effort
to do what must be done,
do you not see your heart?
What are you afraid
we will see, in your weakness?
Vulnerability is beautiful.
Vulnerability expands
your universe.
Don’t be afraid
to be kind to yourself,
and kind to others.
We are all weak once
in a while.
poem- out in the rain September 15, 2014
Usually
I have patience to tolerate
your negative energy.
I can listen to your whining
self-indulgence
without comment.
I can ignore your
ignorance, and gently
try to inform you.
But right now,
my world is a storm
of negativity, raining from
despots, thieves, and liars
who have too much power over my life.
I am holding up a very small umbrella
to hold off the stress.
If you blow that negative air at me,
you will turn my umbrella inside out
and so you’ll excuse me
if I leave you
standing in the rain
by yourself.
Shawn L. Bird 
quote- the mind December 26, 2013
Tags: attitude, clinical depression, depression, John Milton, mental health, mind, Paradise Lost, quote
Milton said that in Paradise Lost in 1667. That’s 344 years ago, and as fine a statement on mental health as ever I’ve heard.
If you’re not clinically depressed, it expresses the simple concept that your attitude to the situation is what’s important, not the situation itself.
I’ve known a lot of people over the years who are constantly saying negative things about their hard-working, diligent spouses. For whatever reasons, they feel that bashing their spouse is acceptable sport. Inevitably, their relationships crumble, and they blame the spouse for the divorce when in fact, their own attitude is what doomed the relationship.
Speak what you want to be true, and you will make it so. Articulate thankfulness, appreciation, and passion and you will create those things.
It may only be in your mind, but your mind controls the body.
If you are clinically depressed, this quote expressed the simple concept that your perception of the situation transforms it. Other people may see simple delights, while you see complicated anguish. Your perception is valid, but don’t let it ruin you. See your doctor. You’d be willing to medicate for a heart condition, your brain deserves just as much respect.
Your mind controls the body. Make sure it’s healthy.
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