I know what it is to be hungry.
I know what it is to tell myself I am content. Continue reading
Repost: Ghazal
This is a re-post of a ghazal that I wrote a couple of years ago. I am sharing with DVerse for this month’s poetry form.
Challenges
For this week’s Writer’s Workshop, John challenges us to choose at least one of six prompts. I am writing inspired by the word “challenge,” and I’m going to try to make this post 12 sentences.
I have written quite a bit on my blog about my mental/emotional challenges with depression, anxiety, and anorexia, but what you probably don’t know is that I have some physical challenges as well, since I have a mild case of cerebral palsy. It happened due to oxygen deprivation at birth; in fact, I almost died. But here I am!
Many people with cerebral palsy are in wheelchairs, but I can walk well; I just walk kind of funny, but I can walk on my own. I get tired easily and often become tense, especially at night, when I am tired.
When I was growing up, I had my own special “adaptive P.E.” class, but I also took part in regular P.E. I would get very angry when kids made fun of the kids in special education, because I was in special education, too; it’s just that my disability was physical, not mental. I also got angry in 7th grade when the P.E. teacher said I didn’t have to run the mile; I only had to run a half-mile, but I HATED being underestimated so ran a whole mile anyway, in about 10 minutes. Hearing that story recently, one of my friends remarked, “That’s Jenna’s way of saying ‘F*** you.'”
Growing up, I also did karate and technically got a black belt, but I can’t actually kick anybody’s butt, especially not now that I am 12 years out of practice! I was active, for a kid with a disability. But I think my real strength is my brain.
Another Poem About My Heart Being an Egg
This cherita was written in response to Linda’s SoCS prompt: “easy/hard.” Thanks for the prompt, and I haven’t written a cherita in a while, either.
I don't want to be hard-hearted
Even though my heart feels like
An over-easy yolk quite often --
With all the madness in the world,
Evil with its flag unfurled I wonder
What sort of spell we're living under.
Fandango’s Flashback Friday
I decided today to look through my archives for Fandango’s Flashback Friday, and I found an ovi I wrote a year ago. I had totally forgotten about it, so thanks, Fandango!
Dread
My heart is a raw egg
Cracked open,
Love sliding down my
Cheeks, yolk broken.
My eyes are squeezed lemons,
Juice dribbling from lids
Unsweetened, so sour,
Waiting for the final hour.
Grief: An Acrostic
I wrote this poem this morning after finding out yesterday that my dear friend is very ill. Please pray for him!
God knows how I feel:
Rife with sadness, worry,
Intensity of tears --
Each day I beseech God to calm my
Fears, the death of a friend.
Rejoicing in Freedom
Happy Laetare Sunday, when we rejoice near the halfway point of Lent! I was inspired to write a poem by a verse in one of the psalms:
“Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”
Psalm 66:16, KJV
Let me tell you what great things
God has done for me:
From depression's evil grip
He has set me free.
From disorder's cunning grasp,
God has broken chains,
He has called me higher still:
My life freedom gains.
Pentecost
Their fear was not enough to thwart God's plan:
When Spirit came, gave courage to their souls,
Where once they said they can't, now say they can
Assent to God, ascending to His goals.
He came into their hearts to make them whole.
Where once their cowardice was coming through,
Descended fortitude, becoming new.
Living Situations and Comfort
1. What is the worst place you have ever lived in (house, town, caravan, other)?
I have only ever lived in 2 places, my current house and my college dorm room. In the dorm, I had to share a bathroom with 30 other women and wear “shower shoes.” My roommate and I were friends the first quarter but not so much after that, since she found her own friends.
2. Would you like to live in a large property with a big garden or a small cottage in the middle of nowhere?
A small cottage sounds nice, but I would need space for all my stuff. First-world problems.
3. Do you feel comfortable in a crowd/group of people?
Comfortable enough, thanks to roughly 15 years of therapy.
4. Do you enjoy your own company?
Yes, it’s never too loud when I’m by myself! I’m lucky that my parents allow me to live with them, but my dad is very loud. He’s one of those people who does not enjoy his own company.
Gratitude:
One of my friends helped me pay for my new glasses (my previous pair snapped in half, and I don’t have insurance)!
Sharing my world today.
— Distance —
As
Distance
Between us
Grows, ground trembles
And I am falling --
Weightless, scream, do
You hear me
Calling
You?
For today’s SoCS prompt, “distance.”
Boosted
Seeing Fandango’s FOWC for today, “boost,” my first thought was this:
In eating disorder recovery, we would be forced to drink these, or Ensures, if we didn’t finish a meal or snack. We called it, “Getting boosted.” To this day, I can hardly stand to look at an Ensure drink.
revivedwriter 
