Coexistence

MedRocky/Adobestock

POETRY FOR INCLUSION

I once was
A caged bird
Singing for
Affection

Wings clipped
and flight for
Self-discovery
Delayed

I once was
An unstable tree
Searching for
Connection

Bark effaced
and roots of
repressed trauma
Exposed

I once was
A fragile mirror
Longing for
Reflection

Shards blunted
and frame for
Imperfection
Revealed

And now the
dam of trauma
Breaks with floods
Of growth

The bird soars
And wisdom hungers
for a meditative feast

The bark repaired
And nutrients of
Insight provide
Healing

The mirror restored
And reflective glue
Nourishes the once
Shattered ego

There is space
For trauma and
Growth to coexist

Dr Clark is an outpatient psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric Times^TM.