Category: Poetry
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I Don’t Allow My Façade to Slip
I don’t allow my façade to slip I don’t allow myself to cry I fear what I hide behind My façade of functionality I hide my heart I hide my pain I wear armor To protect myself I fear what will happen If I allow myself to cry What will happen If I allow myself…
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Memory: A Poem
Not too good with time Past, Present, Future My mind erases what is not in front of me. Too many other thoughts and concerns competing for my attention. -Kitt O’Malley
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What I’ve Done Recently
Frustrated, Defeated and Hypomanic The weekend before last, I was frustrated, overwhelmed, feeling defeated, and mildly hypomanic. I felt like a failure as a mother, for I hadn’t been able to get my son to take his high school equivalency exams. Told that I make it too easy for him to stay in his bedroom…
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I Don’t Want to Write About #Suicide for #WorldSuicidePreventionDay
Poem recalling suicide of extended family member and my own suicidality at 18
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Barely Fiction: Kate.1
Her true and legal name is Kitt Kathleen O’Malley. She loves her name and is grateful her parents came up with it — a great stage name if there ever was one. Her first name is typically a nickname for Katherine or Kathleen, so her name is redundant. She had thought that Katherine meant catharsis,…
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Verbal Non-Verbal
Sometimes, I’m verbal The words rush They press They insist on getting out of my head They keep me awake at night Unless I shut them up Turn them off with meds Sometimes, though, I’m simply not Sometimes, I’m non-verbal The words are not there I do jigsaw puzzles Watch TV Play with numbers Rather than…
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Wave the White Flag
Need to write out the pain and exhaustion in my heart Pain and grieving my parents’ dementias Pain and exhaustion caring for my son Must back off both Must take care of myself Must Must Must Must take care of myself Ready to throw in the towel To admit defeat To wave a white flag…
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Cocooning
Cocooning Recovering from social demands From social interaction From caring for others My son My husband My parents From caring about too many From caring too much You may not hear from me You may not read much from me I’m depleted I need to refill Not to care so much about others But to…
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The Rebel and His Mother
The Rebel When my son was a preschooler in daycare His class had a field trip to the local In ‘N Out As we walked back to the daycare center My son held my hand We walked in pairs down the sidewalk His daycare teacher said Everyone stay on sidewalk Do not step into the…