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Amy Hennessy Poem
Growing up I was never the favorite
Never the good kid
Never given a chance
My outbursts were shut down
I was told to
Sit down
Shut up
Keep it together
My parents struggled to keep me in school
They never had the money to treat me
Constantly being told that I wasn’t good enough
Not once did someone sit down with me
And try to channel my differences into something positive
I grew up thinking that I was a failure
That I would never amount to anything
That I would never be in control of my own body
You see, in a world where we preach equality
We seem to forget that being different doesn’t mean being worse
That our differences are actually just the edges on the puzzle piece that allows us all to fit together in harmony
I am more than my disorder
I cannot be defined by any manual, dictionary, or doctor
I am not a statistic in a project or a number in a book
Just because you can not contain me
Doesn’t mean that I should be contained
My energy fills the sky and brings the stars to life
My attention reaches every corner of the Earth,
Constantly searching, learning, growing
Your boundaries are my front porch
I’ll drink my coffee and go explore the world in which you don’t dare travel
I’ve been lost and forgotten too many times
To fear making a wrong turn now
So before you sit back and judge me for not fitting in to your mold
Ask yourself why you’re so afraid of me
Why four letters have you scrambling for a solution in a pill bottle
I am not a tragedy
My brain processes chemicals differently than yours
But that doesn’t mean that what I have to say is invalid
That I’m any less of a human being
I am your friend
Your sister
Your brother
Your mother
Your acquaintance
Your teacher
I’m the kid down the hall struggling to pass into the next grade
But who can go and paint a mural so beautiful it could stop traffic
I’m the applicant being turned away from job interviews because of my ‘erratic behavior’
But who can look at a problem that’s been stumping you for weeks and see a solution
I’m the outcast who goes home and cries everyday because no one can see past this disorder
I’m the dropout with abandoned dreams who loves to learn but could never get it quite right
I am everywhere
You just choose not to see me
Stop pretending that I do not exist
Your weaknesses are my strengths and your strengths are my weaknesses
We can climb this mountain alone and each get half way
Or we can climb together and reach the top
Without me your puzzle will never be fully complete
You can trim my edges and put me in a different spot
But there will still be a hole left behind
You stare at the half completed jigsaw in front of you wondering where all the pieces went
Why is it that the first place you look is the floor?
Instead, look in the mirror
We are there in the parts of yourself that you forget to see
We are your broken pieces that fell to the ground and never fit back just right
We’ve been shattered, stepped on, and forgotten, but we’re not gone
Can you see me?
Can you see me?
Copyright © Amy Hennessy | Year Posted 2016
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Amy Hennessy Poem
Tonight
I stood under a dying sunflower
and silently marveled at the
warm painted sky
as the sun dipped down
to kiss another day goodnight.
Basking in the silhouette
of what was,
I began to rediscover
hope for what is yet to come.
There is a beauty in these endings,
in the knowledge that
the beauty of what was
is not diminished by wilted leaves or darkened skies;
it will always have been a masterpiece.
And so too will this time spent
laughing and loving and discovering the core of who I really am
always be a moment of eternal beauty.
As the seeds fall
from the drooping flower,
birds and bees and all between
will find nourishment that will sustain
through the coming cold.
As the sun disappears behind the horizon
and the darkness of the night caresses
the bends and folds of the earth,
the crickets rise
and somewhere far off,
another day begins.
These times are not easy to dance with,
but hope breathes
in the knowing that all will one day be
reconciled.
The sun will rise,
seeds will fall and resprout,
and I will once again be reminded
of what it is to flourish in the
warmth and peace of this life.
All is not lost.
Copyright © Amy Hennessy | Year Posted 2020
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Amy Hennessy Poem
As I watch the sun trade places with the stars,
I am overwhelmed with the understanding
that beauty isn't diminished in darkness.
The grass is still green
the flowers still smell
and the intricacies of every inch of our world
remain.
The limitations of my vision do not determine the world around me.
Reality does not bend to what I cannot see.
As the sun nods off to sleep,
she does not leave without a kiss goodnight.
She pulls the color from the earth
and into the sky
to remind us in a whole new palate
just how much beauty exists in each day.
So kiss her back;
marvel at the painted skies and dazzling stars,
and rest in the knowing that
the beauty of the day
remains.
Copyright © Amy Hennessy | Year Posted 2021
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