IN THE OCEAN'S HOLD

By Thy-Justice Amaranth Lumen

When I saw you there in such pain,

I knew you’d never be the same again.

After you were trapped in that dark cave,

And your heart you feared could not be saved.

When the waves made their way in,

You didn’t know where to begin—

To escape from the ocean’s hold,

In December,

When its waters were icy cold.

At first you stalled;

You froze in place.

But still the water closed that space.

Then you began to climb the caves walls,

You tried your best to stand up tall—

But the waves would make you fall.

And there you lost all of your faith,

You couldn’t find it in that space,

Though it could never erase

The light you once saw—

The light you couldn’t see anymore.

Now you couldn’t rise from the floor.

At first you tried to hide,

You felt the panic deep inside,

But still the waves would collide—

Tightening their hold,

Pulling you out with the tide.

And there, within the ocean wide,

You were flooded with all you’d tried

To bury deep inside—

A thousand tears no one could find,

And fears the world had left behind.

For all you were dealt, it would remind

You of when the waters were not kind.

Then somehow…

You changed your mind.

You thought it was a dream

When you couldn’t breathe,

But then the distant lights would gleam,

And slowly… you began to believe.

You felt a quiet kind of relief,

After facing all that grief.

For in those waters you had drowned,

Where you couldn’t make a sound,

Where your feet could not find ground—

And when not a soul was around…

You saw it there—

Up in the clouds.

A gleam of hope within the sky,

A light that would not pass you by.

It lifted you, you rose up high,

A truth your heart could not deny.

It gave your spirit room to fly,

And even your heart could testify—

That the storm had finally passed you by.

You stepped once more upon the sand,

Returned at last to steady land.

No longer lost beneath the sea,

But standing tall—

And finally free.

It was the ocean that made you see

That the light within me

Was always there to set you free—

To hold your heart,

Eternally.

HEART IN A SHELL

By Rob Sienna (The Outrider)

Wounded voidoid, all walled off

believes that sharing's dumb,

blocked & bottle necked inside—

heart in a shell.

Perturbed by traumas they can’t see,

fights imagined enemies,

wanting peace that doesn't come—

tough to trust or sympathize with,

heart in a shell.

Ineffective strategy, 

self protects inveterately,

isolated, defenseless—

heart in a shell!

Struts & swaggers unfortunate,

imaginary zones where cares & worries 

multiply, hidden under bones

crinkled & kermunged—

heart in a shell.

THE SPRING FURNACE

By Maddi Smith-Nelson

May heat,

records cracked open

like mental health

on a relentless day.

Like bodies, 

filled with life force

from the illumination 

by the Sun.

People can just mong,

safe to sit by the rivers

that flow past 

like thoughts on a good day.

Gentle streams of enlightenment,

or torrents of thunderous insight.

Bringing change and awareness

to thoughts of wintry ice,

the icicles that stab 

at the stars in your eyes.

The reflection of the Moon,

in their planetary image.

When the dark wanders in late,

Invite rest to calm away

the thoughts that behave like entities,

unhinged wraiths that stick,

Imagine the cool velvet night

washing them away.

The light filled days, 

allowing clouds in and out,

the perfect picture emerges.

The perfect thoughts, 

waiting for you,

like they do.

Things don’t need to be perfect,

but they can be wonderful.



INVISIBLE BATTLES

By Alyssa

As I walk these streets, I often wonder what the person

passing by me is going through.

I have come to realize that many people carry invisible

battle scars that are still bleeding.

Some walk through life while still fighting battles so brutal

that “hard” feels like an understatement.

Some seem to be winning, but only because they have poured

every ounce of strength into surviving.

Others hide like frightened children, hoping someone will

come and rescue them.

But the painful truth is that these battles cannot simply be

paused, hidden, or avoided — they must be faced.

The battles come in different forms, yet each one leaves its

own kind of pain.

They will make you cry, question life, and sometimes feel

like you are losing your sanity. Most of all, they hurt —

not physically, but deeply within.

These battles are divorce, loss of a loved one, financial

instability, depression, anxiety, and so much more.

And when I understood this, I decided to become a little

kinder. Because everyone you meet is fighting a battle —

some are winning, some are losing, but all are trying to

survive.



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