A Room So Still and Quiet It Hurts: A Collaboration of Warriors

Sarah is one of many writers I follow, and she constantly amazes me with her talent, whether she’s creating exciting stories about witches, vampires, and other supernatural creatures, or one of her breathtaking poems that always manage to touch my soul. This is one of the latest examples of her artistry. For those of us who live with chronic depression, this poem perfectly captures what many of us feel every day. She wrote it as part of a collaboration between writers who came together after the deaths of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington.

Heartstring Eulogies

After the recent deaths of Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell, many of us were hit hard. I was lucky to be included with a large group of writers that came together to share our words and perspectives on the darkness that haunts people with depression. Below is my contribution to it. If you’d like to read the collaboration in it’s entirety, click the link at the bottom.

These bones have grown
weak and weary, while the rest
of the world has gone
dark and gray. Over time,
they’ve become more
than I can handle.
More than I can live with.
And these burdens I carry
are mine alone. No one
deserves to hold them
on their shoulders.
Which is why I’ll take them
with me. After the music
stops playing.

© Sarah Doughty

Source: A Room So Still and Quiet It Hurts: A Collaboration of Warriors

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Washington Politicians

 

 

As many of you already know, this past Friday, in the early morning hours, Senate Republicans lost their third bid to overturn the Affordable Care Act. If they had succeeded with their “skinny repeal” at least 16 million people would have lost their health insurance next year. The reason this happened is due to three courageous senators who stood up to their Republican colleagues who wanted to push through anything, no matter the consequences, simply for the sake of getting rid of the ACA. Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and John McCain of Arizona, put country before party and voted to protect their constituents. Speaking for myself, who have become so jaded with Washington politics, this was an amazing moment. Especially as Senator Murkowski and her fellow Alaskan colleague, Senator Dan Sullivan, have been threatened by the Trump administration. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has reportedly told them that Senator Murkowski’s earlier vote to not let the “skinny repeal” come to a vote “had put Alaska’s future with the administration in jeopardy.” Seriously? Who the heck threatens an entire state over a disagreement with its Senators? Wait a minute. This is Trump we’re talking about. What am I thinking?

Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of hateful things being said and written about these three Senators, by Trump supporters. Everything from  being labeled “cowards” and “traitors”, to actual death threats are being lobbed at them. John McCain, the war hero who was tortured by the Vietcong, has especially come under fire, which to me is sheer lunacy. But this is the ignorant and venomous times we live in. I just want to personally say thank you to Senators Collins, Murkowski, and McCain, for having the courage to do the right thing. And their actions have reminded me of one of my favorite J.K. Rowling quotes:

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.

~ Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ~