Tag: mentalhealth

Before We Burnout

We are tired.

Tired of hearing about another mass shooting.
Tired of seeing that list grow and grow and grow.
Tired of our children going through school shooting drills.
Tired of it being necessary to explain school shootings at all.
Tired of America putting all of that on our teachers’ shoulders.
Tired of this being a uniquely American problem….

                                           Before We Burnout

We are tired.

Tired of hearing about another mass shooting.
Tired of seeing that list grow and grow and grow.
Tired of our children going through school shooting drills.
Tired of it being necessary to explain school shootings at all.
Tired of America putting all of that on our teachers’ shoulders. 
Tired of this being a uniquely American problem. 
Tired of the politicians offering platitudes and not policies.
Tired of their solutions to arm and armor up.
Tired of the solutions to symptoms and not to sickness. 
Tired of no one doing anything to address our mental health crisis.
Tired of no one doing anything about our escalating gun violence.
Tired of no one doing anything about better social safety nets.
Tired of screaming all of this into the void. 
Tired of the void only blinking back. 
Tired of all the gun worship.
Tired of lobbyists having more pull than piles of dead bodies.
Tired of politicians not standing up and standing out. 
Tired of all their promises that forever fizzle out. 
Tired of all the people who will not give an inch, for fear of the mile. 
Tired of wondering when the next shooting will happen.
Tired of waiting and waiting for that shoe to drop. 
Tired of fearing our loved ones will be there when it does. 
Tired of the whole absurd tragedy, being played out, again and again and again.


We should be angry. 

Angry over all the lives lost. 

Angry over nothing ever being done

Angry for the whole absurd tragedy, being played out, again and again and again.
We need to be angry.

Angry all the way to the polls.

05/26/22
M. L. Michael

About…

“One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy”

The bolder comes to a rolling stop,
and just like that, you’re back at the bottom,
back to peering up at a summit lost in the clouds.
There’s exhaustion in every muscle,

in every bone, and in every thought.
And there’s the weight of the bolder,
the weight of the journey,

and the weight of being,
all working against you,
all begging you to quit. ..

“One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy”
-Albert Camus

The bolder comes to a rolling stop,
and just like that, you’re back at the bottom,
back to peering up at a summit lost in the clouds.
There’s exhaustion in every muscle, 
in every bone, and in every thought.
And there’s the weight of the bolder,
the weight of the journey, 
and the weight of being,
all working against you,
all begging you to quit. 

But quitting isn’t an option 
when here now is your all,
and quitting seems foolish,
when you know what’s ahead:
a moment of serenity above the clouds,
a moment to stop and breath
and enjoy the view.  

You know it's the first push that’s the hardest, 
because the bolder feels like an immoveable object,
but you know you’re an unstoppable force,
one that’s pushed this bolder up innumerable times.

That second push is always lighter, 
maybe a fraction of a percent lighter,
but it’s enough to build momentum,  
it's enough to make it to the summit.


03/12/22
M. L. Michael

About…

Spacing Out

There is a scene in some space movies,
where someone becomes suddenly untethered,
broken off from the station,

they are adrift and abandoned.
now cue the suspenseful music,
as they drift off and off and off…
Those scenes scare me the most.

Because I remember my own scenes,
when suddenly I have become untethered,
disconnected from the moment,
unable to hold on to anything.
so cue me retreating within,
as I drift off and off and off…

Spacing Out


There is a scene in some space movies,
where someone becomes suddenly untethered,
broken off from the station, 
they are adrift and abandoned.
now cue the suspenseful music, 
as they drift off and off and off...

Those scenes scare me the most.

Because I remember my own scenes,
when suddenly I have become untethered,
disconnected from the moment, 
unable to hold on to anything.
so cue me retreating within,
as I drift off and off and off…

02/06/2022
M. L. Michael

About…

(Random Access) Memory

It’s like…
I’m in the middle of nothing,
trying to draw from the absence of everything.

Until,

these little sprites blink into view,
fireflies that spotlight my past with their flash,
and shine a light on what I thought was lost.

Still,
their flash betrays an exit,
as each firefly blinks off into nothing,
forgotten
once again. 

(Random Access) Memory


It’s like…
I’m in the middle of nothing, 
trying to draw from the absence of everything.

Until, 
these little sprites blink into view,
fireflies that spotlight my past with their flash,
and shine a light on what I thought was lost.

Still,
their flash betrays an exit, 
as each firefly blinks off into nothing,
forgotten 
once again. 

01/17/22
M. L. Michael

About…

Still Waters

Still waters make me uneasy.

The sheer uniformity of the undisturbed
makes for a terrible mirror to gaze into.
Instead, I want to toss a stone in
and break the tension.
I want to send ripples out,
I want to toss in scattered handfuls,
and watch ripples break across ripples.

Still waters become alive.

Still Waters

Still waters make me uneasy. 

The sheer uniformity of the undisturbed
makes for a terrible mirror to gaze into. 
Instead, I want to toss a stone in
and break the tension. 
I want to send ripples out, 
I want to toss in scattered handfuls,
and watch ripples break across ripples.

Still waters become alive.  

01/05/2022
M. L. Michael

About…