WE HEAR YOU

By James Aitchison

You say the world is too much for you,

you say you are a burden,

you say you are not worthy.

But your story matters,

every word of it.

You will not lose your way

in the darkness!

Fear not for the future, my friend,

love and light cure soul sickness.

HAVING A MENTAL DISORDER

By Southern Longoria

Having a mental disorder ...

Or two or three ... or five.

My struggles can inspire others.

Maybe that's why I'm alive.

Though I've been through hell and back.

Alcohol, pills, anger, such a deadly combination.

Bipolar, anxiety too ...

When in doubt, know others are just like you.

Who you are is wonderful.

Scars on your skin don't matter to me.

The human heartbeat is a beautiful thing.

The love in you is what I see.

Never forget your mental health disorders,

Have never defined you from the beginning.

The person in the mirror I'm looking at now.

You deserve to be here on this Earth.

Please let me show you,

Your life has meaning and so much worth.

ABOUT SOUTHERN: Southern is from Texas and has been writing poems for years. He has been diagnosed with several mental health disorders, and has made it a life goal to make sure somebody else like him, never forgets they are not the only one. That they have reasons to be here. His poetry tends to focus on the heart, and not the brain of someone with mental health diagnosis.

BETWEEN FRACTURES AND MINDS

By Rosalina Hawkins

I construct sentences that flow correctly. Proper English. Proper Grammar. Letters joined up, always.

I count the amount of words I use, 

I count the amount of breaths I take

Because that's proof I am living. 

I am in control of my Fractures. 

I turn to look in the mirror, more proof

I am within my Body. 

But when I turn back my quill has formed a shape that resembles nothing. A squiggle within a page of structure. 

How it got there, I don't know. But it wasn't me, because 

I am in control of my Fractures. 

Try to fix the mess, carving tears into the paper as I write and write until my whole page is red and my order is shattered. 

I blink hard, trying to snap out of whatever trance I am in. This is because of my Fractures.

But that's ok because

Aren't I in control of my Fractures?

I feel my heart beating fast in my chest but

I cannot focus on the fact that -i am living my heart is beating I'm fine I'm fine I'm FINE- and then the floor escapes from under me and I'm 

Falling

Falling

Falling

Into the mouth of Hell

I feel fires burning my arm, the red ink that stained my skin-page boiling away and I'm screaming and dead and I'm never going to escape

Because I lost control of my Fractures.

...

Red pools in the bathtub when my Husband comes home and He's screaming and dying and is trying to control the Fracture I created in Him

When I lost control of mine.

HEY GIRL

By Adah

Hey girl,

It’s almost 9.20.

By this time, you must be feeling sleepy.

“Ampun mak, ampun ayah, assalamualaikum.”

“Don’t sleep before I do”, that’s your nightly custom.

The day has been great,

You play, you explore and you create.

Yet your mind still wonders,

Why is life so unfamiliar.

So you snuck in books under your pillow,

to read, to write, all my sorrow.

“Where am I?” “Why am I here?”

No one’s listening, you hear no answer.

So you wish, and you pray, 

Every single night, every single day,

“This is not home, I don’t wanna stay.”

“I just can’t see beyond this clay.”

“O my LORD, take me away.”

“This is not home, please, I don’t wanna stay.”

So you write, and you write,

Till one day you were found.

And you see fear in their sight,

Disappointment in their tone.

Fear of losing you, dear girl.

Because they love you, dear soul.

So you feed into their fear,

Reluctant, but submitted to their anger.

But never once, the aching disappear,

Never once were you out of fire.

Hey girl,

Today I realized, I am you.

That girl, who always fought to be true.

I am sorry that you felt abandoned,

Trust me, you were never forgotten.

In all darkness, it’s you who stays clear,

In all struggles, we are now here ...

... together.

So, I am writing to that courageous girl,

Who was never tired in letting her mind wander,

With all of me, I am now with her,

Her questions and pain, her longing and desire.

I am you dear girl, you are me.

We are one, and always have been.

The pain is ours, flowers of our journey,

The ache and longing, lights to help us see.

Today I submit to you dear girl,

And you to me, my angel.

Not just the pain, and the tears,

But all the excitement, and the wonders.

To explore, to question, to taste life.

To stretch, to expand, to live with love.

Dear girl, I am you.

And you are me.

And we are true. 

We can just be.

ABOUT THE POEM: 'Hey Girl' is a letter to my younger self about childhood emotional pain, faith, and the ongoing process of inner‑child healing – moving from feeling unwanted and 'too much' to reclaiming curiosity, desire, and the capacity to live with love. I hope it might resonate with others on their own mental health journeys.

ABOUT ADAH: "I am a researcher and educator based in Malaysia, and writing has become part of my practice of healing, self‑understanding and meaning forming."

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