3 Mental Health Poems From My First Book

By Jordan Brown • Issue #162 •

I wanted to share another video with you, but I’m still having Internet. In other words, I’m using a router that is over 10 years old…

I should be back in business for uploading videos next weekend.

In the meantime, I’m excited to announce that I will be self-publishing my first book in a few weeks! In today’s newsletter, I’m sharing three poems from the book.

In Search of Happiness is my first book, and it’s a poetry and short-essay journey through mental health issues toward a path of finding eventual healing and meaning.

I believe that anyone who has ever struggled with their mental health will find something from this book that resonates with them.

I hope you enjoy this sneak preview.

Chinks in My Armor

love is not what I wanted

but what I needed

it’s not a rainbow

but a rain bow

angling waterfalls

to cover me

with what I can’t escape

I thought I could name it

now I know

to name

is to limit it

is to dismiss it

is to render it

powerless

love is least expected

when it is most needed

try to force it

and it shrinks

try to grab it

and it recoils

try to live it

and it pales

but give up trying

and love

seeps into the cracks

growing flowers

through the chinks in my armor

Embracing a Single Thought

I remember when I first noticed

The constant thoughts

And the noticing

It was the hardest part

But new awareness

Brought new hope

That somewhere in the thoughts

There was freedom

And a pause

A mere staccato of space to be seized

The mind is tamed when it is noticed

Insight is its own reward

A million-step journey toward the center

Starts by embracing

A single thought

The Soil of an Island

when all is the same

who will be the piercing light?

the one who stands

alone

who bends and cuts

when others march?

others feel

the weight

of the world

with bodies, pressed

the burden

is shared, but also

indistinguishable

I choose to be free

with my thoughts

with my dreams

with the way

I see the world

I watch them all

float by

on a sea

of sameness

they live

for the waves

the rolling weekends

I am an island

long gone from Pangaea

who still feels

the homeland in his soil

Do you enjoy poetry? Hate it? There’s no right or wrong answer. For me, poetry cuts right to the truth for whoever is writing it. It seeks a new truth in the eyes of the reader. Sparse words and ample space create meaning in a way that long essays cannot.

I hope you’re having a nice weekend. See you tomorrow.

Jordan

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By Jordan Brown

The Mental Health Update is a daily newsletter that makes mental health meaningful and accessible.

It contains timeless mental health wisdom to start your day in a thoughtful, uplifting way.

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3 Mental Health Poems From My First Book

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