Two Halves

There are
two parts of me
split in half,
was it lightening 
that broke my
spirit?

Tried to kill the
mousey one with a hand
tied behind my back.

She was stronger than she looked.

Pills and television
came and put us
back together again.

Now we sit
like a hand in glove.

Poems about depression and mental health

I struggled with depression when I was young, and writing poetry was a way to help me work through a lot of the inner suffering I had felt during the time. This poem may have been written sometime in my early or middle 20’s.

It isn’t something that many people like to publicly talk about, but I was what at the time people called ‘a cutter’. I’m sure the term is no longer appropriate to use, but I know that even though we change the words we use the problem remains. It is a form of self-abuse and suicidal ideation. I haven’t harmed myself in decades, and I don’t know if I grew out of it, or it was the therapy (although I had never talked about it), but I do think the poetry helped. I felt like I could safely express what I was feeling inside, and I knew that someone out there felt the same pain that I had felt.

I believe poetry can save lives. I really do.