The aftermath of pain
Is numbing
Yet she knows she can’t succumb
To her desire to hide
To run
For she feels the pull inside
The need for love
Greater than her need
To shove away what hurts
The need for love
Pushing her to rise above
©Ashley Castle Barnes
As a sensitive person, world events affect me deeply, and the last two weeks have hit me hard.
I sat in my makeshift kitchen last night, trying to cook dinner while using the least amount of dishes and make the least mess possible since I have no sink besides a small bathroom vanity.
Everything was 10 times harder than normal. Everything seemed to be making a noise. Dogs were underfoot. The news continued to be heartbreaking.
Total sensory overload.
I wanted to just curl up and go to bed for days.
But I made dinner. And I figured out a clever way to clean rice out of the pan in a vanity sink without letting any rice go down the drain and creating a new problem.
I got a good night’s sleep. And I started over today.
I have the luxury to tune out all this difficult stuff. And I could easily justify it with all my own personal challenges currently going on.
But I can’t. Something deep inside won’t let me.
Not so long as others don’t have the luxury to feel safe in their schools, their grocery stores, their cars, their homes, their lives.
There’s work to do.
Today, that work is not tuning out.
Tomorrow, I hope it’s something more impactful.
What big or small actions are you taking today to take care of yourself and others?
Cat Lady Poet 