Healing Out Loud

@Hkumar - your opening poem is very powerful and bold and I feel like matches with the graphic you chose for this thread perfectly.

maybe it's time, / to forget what we were taught, / about holding it in

There's is so much shame with loss, and grief, and honestly illness/woundedness/burdens in general, and people so often try to stuff their feelings and journey, and in some sense that deprives the world of seeing the strength there - but also the reality of life. We are who we are, and have lived what we have lived. Lovely poem, and even more lovely message.

Thank you so much @alliyah for your kind words.

The theme is so vulnerable and hits so personal yet contradictorily relatable. For healing- something long associated with peace and calm to be described aloud is an incredibly unique concept. Added with the fact that the destructive hurt was silent - chef's kiss. It's impressive how it still doesn't feel try hard at all.

we got so good at quiet/not by choice/just by repetition- patterns settling within us to make us endure things we never wanted to- painful but there's a certain beauty to it.

and let it leave us/however it knows how- you captured the cluelessness of a person embarking on the road to healing for the first time quite perfectly. The purpose and will is clear, even if the way may be blurry. But he shall figure it out with time.

i carry old knots forward- love the juxtaposition here. Knots are an imagery for anxiety and past hurt the narrator is carrying with them, but it's revealed to be a hope for holding their supposed shattered future together. The realisation that soon follows about their real weight though was very captivating to read through <3

Great poems this Napo, Hkumar! I hope you return to add a few more to this collection.

Thank you for your comment @AlexWrites. Really appreciate your words

i love these metaphors built in poem 2 & 3 that connect each other so seamlessly! while the second poem feels as if the speaker is somewhat observational of themselves, the third poem feels more identified with its own emotion; cynicism & doubt--feelings which both poems share but express differently--due similes creating a more passiveness in poem 2, while the metaphors in poem 3 gives more strength to its voice.

these poems share realizations about healing & pain--the complications within that--bring impact within so little lines. (but because / i don't know / what else unravels with it) was such a heavy hitter after that suspense that i felt the greatest out of the rest of these poems. after the brooding voice, to reveal this doubt makes the ending impactful.

these are greatly written poems!

Thank you so much @lalalucky <3

Hey H! I know you said on your wall you wish you'd had an opportunity to write more, but I think you should still be very proud of what you did write! These poems feel heartfelt and heart-catching, and reflective and honest.

Love this image from your last one -

i still misplace my footing

but i don't fall
the same way anymore

and somewhere along the way
the sky shifted too

The unsure movement forward, even when the whole world is moving fast around you - but the self-knowledge to know there is healing and strength and growth all the same. Lovely piece to close with. Thank you for sharing your poetry!

Thank you so much @alliyah for your kind words and the support <3