Degrees of Revealedness

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POETRY FOR INCLUSION

I have seen this scar

chiseled in my psyche

proliferating with

neurons of agita

and trauma

inducing staring spells

and periods of mutism

longing to be freed

to be heard

to be valued.

I have felt this mark

branded in my heart

hemorrhaging with

vessels of pain

and loss

inciting septic shock

and periods of

lifelessness

hoping to be revived

to be soothed

to be bathed

in apology.

Her maternal dominion

has been

razor sharp

demanding

perfection and

dutiful allegiance

while

slicing away

perspective and opinion

leaving her progeny

with wounds

that only poetry

and therapeutic tears

can cure.

I still see and feel

this scar

evolving

transforming

healing

with degrees of

revealedness.

I was raised by

regal narcissism.

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.