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Day 1 #haiku #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth

Under quarantine
I crack open my window-
Birdsong flies inside

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 1, 2020

Day 2 #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth
Awake again at 4am
waiting for the alarm
The cat is a dim ball of fur
Her eyes glow, catching
the light from the hallway
She yaws wide, exposing
the white daggers of her teeth
Both of us too tired to sleep

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 2, 2020

Day 3 #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth
I stumbled across a picture
of my #abuser and me this week.
It took my breath away.
There I was,
so small
and breakable.
The little girl #victim
inside me
recognized herself
And wept.
Jack Rogers #Childpredator #SAAM2020 #MeToo #survivors pic.twitter.com/AQxv1ED91H

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 3, 2020

Day 4 #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth

Awake before dawn
waiting for the sun to rise,
more tired than when I went to sleep.
My mind is quiet
but my body screams
PAIN- PAIN- PAIN-
in time to the
beat of my heart.
These are the somatics
of #FlattenTheCurve.#ThrivingAfter

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 4, 2020

Day 5 #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth

~Silenced~
My #abuser wanted to
possess my radiance
to fill the void
in his soul.
Instead he only
silenced my voice, #destroyed
my childhood.
But I have
reclaimed
my voice
and will be silent #nolonger. pic.twitter.com/A2TnX8F7y7

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 5, 2020

Day 6 #poem for #NationalPoetryMo
Mercury Rising~
High temp
on a thermometer
used to mean
tucked into bed
& chicken soup
now it's
masks & gloves,
quarantine
& death
Astrologers
warn of the
turmoil of Mercury
in Retrograde
but never told
how to deal with
Planet-wide
Mercury Rising pic.twitter.com/OuslSXnDyy

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 6, 2020

After years of #dissociation
from my body
& separating
from the world,
I picked up a camera.
It made me slow down
& start seeing.
It brought things close,
let the images
slide past my barriers
& flow into
my heart
to #rekindle what I had
forgotten- #wonder & #joy pic.twitter.com/siyB23bGOh

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 11, 2020

Day 8 #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth
This isn't a war
of aggression
fought by
soldiers with guns
bullets, bombs & tanks.
It's a war
of #compassion
fought by
nurses, drs, 1st responders
fighting for the
sick and dying-
dying to save lives.
thank you#Thrivingafter #ShelterInPoems pic.twitter.com/SVP9BiQman

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 8, 2020

Day 9 #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth
I stand
in front of the mirror
half-awake
in the dim light
of the bathroom
noticing
soft curves
& shadows
faint tan lines.
I hear myself say
“How Beautiful.”
Jolted awake
I realize
I’ve never said that
to myself before. #ShelterInPoems pic.twitter.com/xIaNWu3QTW

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 9, 2020

Day 10 #haiku #poem for #NationalPoetryMonth
Cold A/C inside
Turns all the house’s windows
Impressionistic#ThrivingAfter #InspiringThriving #shelterinpoems pic.twitter.com/jppuPpjCgT

— ThrivingAfterSexualAbuse (@AmThrivingAfter) April 10, 2020