Poems related to recovery

[anosognosia]

I tried to find the right corner to post this note in, but if the mods deem another place more appropriate, I would most definitely respect this.

I wanted to share this poem which moved me so much.

I wanted to start this thread so others may post some poems which were instrumental in their recovery.

"Someday I'll love Ocean Vuong" by Ocean Vuong:

After Frank O'Hara / After Roger Reeves

"Ocean, don't be afraid.
The end of the road is so far ahead
it is already behind us.
Don't worry. Your father is only your father
until one of you forgets. Like how the spine
won't remember its wings
no matter how many times our knees
kiss the pavement. Ocean,
are you listening? The most beautiful part
of your body is wherever
your mother's shadow falls.
Here's the house with childhood
whittled down to a single red tripwire.
Don't worry. Just call it horizon
& you'll never reach it.
Here's today. Jump. I promise it's not
a lifeboat. Here's the man
whose arms are wide enough to gather
your leaving. & here the moment,
just after the lights go out, when you can still see
the faint torch between his legs.
How you use it again & again
to find your own hands.
You asked for a second chance
& are given a mouth to empty into.
Don't be afraid, the gunfire
is only the sound of people
trying to live a little longer. Ocean. Ocean,
get up. The most beautiful part of your body
is where it's headed. & remember,
loneliness is still time spent
with the world. Here's
the room with everyone in it.
Your dead friends passing
through you like wind
through a wind chime. Here's a desk
with the gimp leg & a brick
to make it last. Yes, here's a room
so warm & blood-close,
I swear, you will wake—
& mistake these walls
for skin."

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/04/someday-ill-love-ocean-vuong

[thegirlintheattic]

Gorgeous!  Thanks for sharing these beautiful words that make my Inner Critic rest and my heart expand. I especially love the line about how "loneliness is still time spent with the world". 

I like the idea of this thread; throughout my life poetry has been a respite from the harshness I feel around me.

A poem that's been helping me as I launch into recovery mode is this one by Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks).  (Even though, "work" can be a bit of a trigger word for me, as I got a lot of shaming as a child for my work not being of value.  Looking back, I did plenty that was valuable and kind for my family, but my actions were never acknowledged.)

The Sunrise Ruby

In the early morning hour,
just before dawn, lover and beloved awake
and take a drink of water.

She asks, Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell me the absolute truth.

He says, There is nothing left of me.
I am like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world
made of redness? It has no resistance
to sunlight. The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.

Work. Keep digging your well.
Don't think about getting off from work.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that is a ring on the door.

Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who's there.