A perfect family. She’s a great mother who juggles it all perfectly. She’s a housewife that keeps the house sparkly clean, not a speck of dirt in sight. She does activities with the kids, rewards good behavior, and defends them to the end. But behind the scenes she is lonely. She is tired. She is spiraling downward. Her husband is angry, he always yells and seems to be mad about something. He talk...

I think I just met the happiest person in the world. My one year old daughter watched her favorite show, beaming as she mimics the movements of the woman singing on-screen. She claps and hops, checking periodically to see how proud I am of her acrobatics. She lets out a gleeful yelp and form her mouth into a tiny “O”, pointing at an image of a kitty cat, her favorite animal. “What does a kitty say...

I can feel it creeping in-the thoughts, the paranoia. My mind links together all sorts of evidence to support my deepest fears. I don’t know what’s real and what’s my illness thinking. Borderline Personality is a hell I wouldn’t wish on anyone. My mind races and my heart pounds a million miles a minute. My chest tightens as my breaths become shorter and more labored. A panic attack. I knew this wa...

Why do you listen

To all the things people say?

It's crap, you don't deserve it

But you believe it anyway.

You're quick to give love

Yet so guarded to receive

You can't seem to fathom

That not everyone's gonna leave.

Avoiding the mirror

It's like you're trying to hide

The person you really are

And the feelings you hold inside.

Your words have become the bricks

You use to build your wall

If you ...

The girl with the eyes; the eyes that have seen far too much. As a newborn those eyes saw a mother who didn't want her, and only had her because she couldn't afford an abortion. The same mother that, when she found years later, still seemed like she felt the same way. As a toddler those eyes witnessed her big brother, her knight in shining armor, leave to join the military. She didn't realize she ...

They floated in space holding hands, a graceful zero-gravity dance. He felt his heart skip as he gazed into her searching eyes, shining brighter than both Spica and Polaris. The moon glowed softly behind her, and streaks of pink and violet painted the dark backdrop enfolding them. He gently placed his hand on her cheek, and he felt a current of energy ripple though him as his skin touched ...

Unbearable pain in my stomach takes hold of me as an empty bottle of pills sits hauntingly on my nightstand. I don’t think I can take this much longer. Then darkness, peace, relief. A sense of calm washes over me as I feel the emotionally charged air envelope me in a warm embrace. My ears are filled with a continuous low whooshing sound, a noise that is surprisingly comforting. A voice echos aroun...

Walking barefoot with my sleeping baby wrapped to my chest, I hunt for flowers and leaves with my four year old son, Jayce. It’s late morning and the sky is crystal clear and welcoming as if to greet us on this beautiful new day. Honeysuckle flowers fill the air with their sweet, earthy scent-one of my favorites at this time of year. As I listen to the birds serenading each other in the tree tops,...

When you got Covid 19, I brushed it off and thought the worst of it would be the body aches, the fatigue, and the fevers. Day four and you could barely stay awake. You told me your chest hurt and it was hard to breathe. I still didn’t think anything of it, but I encouraged you to go to the hospital anyway. I said goodbye, not realizing that it could be my last. I barely kissed you and talked to yo...

Daddy, you got mad today

I saw it on your face

Your anger transported you

To another time and place

I was scared, really scared

I hid under the bed

I didn’t want to make things worse

You were seeing bright red

Daddy, you got mad today

You made me feel so small

Some days I wonder

If you truly even love me at all

You raised your voice

And you picked up a can of pop

You threw it at my head

And it...