10th January, 2025

IT WILL HAPPEN

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.

(Dedicated to those who are struggling right now)

Some very kind folks are struggling right now

To make heads or tails of this monumental mess

Well I truly don’t have an exact answer for them

That sad reality I must verily confess

It hurts to see such good people stultified

Unable to break out of their gloom

Oh if only I had magic powers for real

To help their joy again blossom and bloom

All I can do is share my thoughts and poems

Share photos of the beauty of life

And hope they bring some peace and solace

To help relieve some of the stress and the strife

I will keep plugging away modeling kindness as well

Helping those who are vulnerable and in pain

It really doesn’t take much effort at all 

And there is so much loving goodness to gain

No, I don’t walk a mile in your shoes for sure

Your journey is very different than mine

But I promise to keep on keeping on

I will toast to your healing with vintage wine

And hope that one day, not so far, far away

You will be healed of that stress and that strife

And once again see the rays of bright sunshine

That yearn to envelop your unique precious life

10th January, 2025

FALLING

By Mike Whiting

I feel like I’m falling 

I feel like I’m failing 

I feel like

if I felt like falling

I’d fail to fall 

but if I fell

would that be a fail as well? 

it’s hard to tell 

a fear of failure

feels as real as hell

but I try to recall

the thoughts

of when I was small 

failing to fall

isn’t failing at all

Poetry by: Mike Whiting, Abby Alexander, Ella Grimes, Sara Ponferrada Reed, Wynn Vu, Harriet Coppard, Mike Gosalia, Rabindra Anselm Mariathasan, Pam Ski, Joan Kantor, Jamie Gannon, Susannah Chatfield, Emma Follett, Nigel Pinhorn, Boakesey, Milena Dimitrova, Nivedita Karthik, Annette Towler, Lana, Tara Reyes, Donna McCabe, Tony Cooney, Peter W. Morris, Mark Andrew Heathcote, Paul Parker, Angus Shoor Caan, Duane Anderson, Shahida, Joan McNerney, David T. Culkin, PhD., John F. Zurn, hristine Botros, Francis H. Powell. Simon Drake, Roo Newsome, Sherri Levine, Kathleen Chamberlin, Tandra Mishra, Caroline Berry, Angela Masciale, Chris Stokes, Reno Mcgreggor Connelly, Vatsala Radhakeesoon, Martin Embree, Dan Healy, Tadgh Quill-Manley, Reuben Scott, Paulette Hampton, Dr Sabrina Rubin, Bella Hope Smith, Lindsay Walter, Dale "Coyote" Johnson,

Alexander A. Henning, Emma Welch, Sophie Squires, Chris McClelland, Sasha Irwin, Faiqa Ali Chughtai, Hari Berrow, Victoria Fitzgerald, Andrea Mitchell, , .Mohammed Ali, Chad Boucher, Zack Benz, Jordan Claeys, Nicole Crossno, Valentina Fulginiti, Ethan Boyd, Heidi Hildeman, Oscar Lozano, Addie Suter, Dionne Risley, David M White, PhD, Melissa W. Sorgi, Kyra Merryman, Riley M. Frank, Hilary Canto, Amelia May Hart, Reese, Anneli Knight, Keila Cruz, Bhagvati Patel, Amber Roeder, Cynthia Foss, April Bulmer, Chelsea Garcia, Trish Lundy, Divya Paliwal, Jeanette Stephenson, Luke Preston, Autumn Johnson, Amy Harris, Braxsen Sindelar, Kristen Moody, Sindy Stern, Sam Hendrian, Deby Cedars, Kiran Harrar, William Gray , Tim Boardman, Jason Kirk Bartley, Ruben Smith, Crystal Hall, Diane Kennedy, Phil Griffiths, Nadine Dunseith, Cynthia Foss, Titan Sanchez, Alex Turner, Brielle Hoban,

Aviva Lilith, Spruce Craft, Frea Wooten, Rosalynn Gildart, April Bartaszewicz, Prudence Sage Massaria, Howa Ramadan, Brodeigh Pearce, Annie Walsh, Charity Louise, Sasha Pavlovic, Haley Headrick, Trisha Lawty, Noor Yousif, Hannah Louise MacFarlane, Anthony Lanza, Basil Kaye, Malachy Mackel, G.S. Yarbro, Sanda Ristić Stojanović, Bobby Z, Binod Dawadi, Fredua A .Boateng, C.W. Blackburn, James Aitchison, Eshaal Asim, Anthony Lanza, Natalie Hussey, Kiran Harrar, Gary Shulman, Abraham Aruguete, Johnathan Eldridge, Faith Graham, Amanda Sharon Hancock, Garima Sachdev Kapoor, Rita McDermott, Shahida Seedat, Jose Manoj Mathews T, Farblos Artem, Jennifer L. Alukonis, Thomas Oddie, Tricia Lloyd Waller, Lisa Anderson, Himanshu Ahuja, K. Weber and Mary Bone.

PLUS: POSSIBLE BOOK PROJECTS FOR 2025

• MEN'S MENTAL HEALTH - Interviews, personal stories, short prose, and poetry focusing on men's mental health.
• WOMEN'S MENTAL HEALTH - Interviews, personal stories, short prose, and poetry focusing on women's mental health.
• MENTAL HEALTH WITHIN THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY - Interviews, personal stories, short prose, and poetry focusing on mental health within the LGBTQIA+
  

In their own words, poets and writers write about their own personal journey with mental health.

Poetry for Mental Health chats to writers and poets about their journey with mental health.

Articles about poetry and positive mental health. MORE ONLINE SHORTLY.

Featuring poets with up to six pieces of their work, and a little about the author and the stories behind their poems..

NOTE ON CONTRIBUTIONS: We publish mental health poetry from around the world, and for a number contributors to this website, English is not their first language. Unlike some other platforms, we don't heavily edit a poet's own work (if we did, it would then not be their own work!), so please focus on a poet's messages and meanings, and not necessarily on any grammatical mistakes or translated imperfections that may arise within their contribution.