Long Road

​Littered with glass and barbs
You keep walking til you are there
Pausing to pull out shards
 
You look for something
You search for God
You want to believe He’s there
To make it worth the pain
The anguish and all the wear
 
An impression of what was
Days gone by
A thing you struggle to find
You won’t give up saying you didn’t try
 
The trinkets that keep you going
Thoughts and items to remember
To guide your way back home
When you’re feeling broken and far from sure
 
Time spent alone
You hope will pay out in a life of joy
Picking up a thing thrown to the wayside
Using all the skills you have to deploy
 
No matter, you keep on
 
Stone by stone
You will fill what once was void

The poem, "Long Road", tries to make relatable, partly through some metaphorical imagery, some of the feelings I have experienced through my long-term struggle with mental illness. A selection of thoughts, feelings, and visual metaphors hope to be able to convey an ongoing struggle with mental illness, and the relentless perseverance in the effort toward re-building ones life, and creating a new life in recovery.

Submitted by Ricardo Garcia