for Rosa Rose and the members of Benzo Warrior Community
We who sit on supermarket floors
who cry in drugstore bathrooms
who drive (when we do) with clammy hands
who ride bikes late into the night
who climb mountains each day
and struggle to descend them
We who are strong in ERs
and collapse outside ERS
who walk on beaches (when we’re lucky)
and in forests
and in malls
and on driveways
and in our homes for miles and miles
who peddle bikes in our beds
who live and forget lives in our beds
who burn in our beds
through miles of perilous thought
We’re the clever ones (we have to be)
the strong ones (we have no choice)
the ones who strive to rise above
and do so on the Sad Wings of Destiny
even when we fall
who hold hands across the Valley of Death
who transcend hell in groovy tones
The invisible ones (hidden in tears)
the ones who haven’t slept in years
who practice gratitude in darkness
who listen to rain sounds on loop
The ones who pray
in many languages
and in no language we can remember
Author: Joanna Elizabeth