Self Care 101

For those of us who are sick of being told to 'take a bath' or 'exercise' to cure depression. Written: 09.01.2015

Take a bath

Add pink fizzy bubbles

To mask the blood and the dirt

Skin soft and supple

Too hard not to tear

If you're feeling down:

Take a bath

Play some music

Turn it on full volume

So neighbours can't hear you howl

Decibels drumming away

Cry until you choke

If you're feeling down:

Play some music

Light scented candles

Small fire in your palm

Skin throbbing towards the heat

Light up the darkness with

Luminescent blisters 

I'd you're feeling down:

Light scented candles

Drink hot cocoa

Scalding water at an arms length

Shame if it would spill

Chocolate powder airborne particles

First, second, third degree

If you're feeling down:

Drink hot cocoa

Take a nap

And tuck yourself in

Violent dreams smash the subconscious

Screams smothered by tight sheets

Keep that lullaby playing

If you're feeling down:

Take a nap

See a friend

Drive drunk and hysterical to her place

Remember to swerve away from

Oncoming traffic

But don't stop for anyone

Not even the police

When their lights blind from above

And their sirens near deafen you

Take a rest in a 

ditch

Glass dagger between your eyes

Mouth spilling with vomit

 (Or was that from earlier?)

Pick up your corpse and dust it off

Walk the rest of the distance

You don't mind - exercise helps

And when you arrive and she gasps

And shakes with rage and sadness

Give her this list of Self-Care

And ask her if she's tried yoga

Author's Note

This poem has an odd shape and flow, and it bothers me slightly.

Reviews

[Bear]

If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, a trick that I like, is to use a voice recognition program to read my poem back to me. To often I have an idea of how my poem sound in my head but hearing it out loud I catch small things overlooked. Such as awkward wording that sounded good in my mind but out loud they interrupt the flow, many times just adding a work like (and) can reconnect and restore the flow. You might give it a try and see if you can find what it is about your poem that bothers you. As for me, this is more a soliloquy style and flow is altered by the delivery of everyone who reads it. I find it true to life imagery captured in words of all its stark glory (that is wordy for I liked it). If you don't have a voice recognition program on your PC you can download one like Natural Reader text to speech software for free.

[V. W. Wilhelmina]

That's a wonderful suggestion, I will certainly take your advice - thank you!

[Bear]

I am glad I could help :~)

[Richard]

this is really good and sardonic ... sort of gets darker as it goes

[Nadia Gerassimenko]

I love this. It's the right amount of irony and mockery. I hate it when people say to people who are truly depressed in every sense or even people with illnesses that are chronic and they have very little control over that they can do stuff to get over themselves or that if they think positively, they will cure themselves easily. Often ignorance creates stupid futile advices.

[V. W. Wilhelmina]

Thank you! I was definitely frustrated at being told to 'get some exercise' or 'have a hot bath' when I wrote this and was struggling with severe depression. Sorry to hear you suffer from a chronic illness x

[Josh Decker]

This is a marvelous poem; it gave me goose-flesh. Your proper use of descriptive words is what I applaud most. I also really enjoy this piece because too many people do not understand mental illness.

Good job at making the rhythmic-structure unravel in the last twenty lines. And by this I mean that the rythm changes abruptly from calm and steady to unbalanced and sporadic. Similar to a bipolar disorder which is associated with depression.

I did not like your use of concrete style when you describe the car swerving from oncoming traffic and falling into the ditch because this technique is not used anywhere else. It causes the final twenty lines to be taken less seriously.

[V. W. Wilhelmina]

Thank you for the lovely compliments and suggestions! I wasn't sure about the concrete style either - I was experimenting with style when I wrote this. I might change it, I'm not sure yet. Either way - thanks!

[Alfred Kukitz]

Conceptually it possess an originality, poetic logic in the madness of the mind.

Regards,
Al

[V. W. Wilhelmina]

'Poetic logic in the madness of the mind' - what a great way to phrase it.
Thank you!

[Rewel Acosta Rivera]

I love the wave of feelings of this poem. Is a photo of the flow of life. Awake the deep feelings and take the soul to news paths. Thanks for share your poem, I will be following your talent.

[V. W. Wilhelmina]

Wow thanks for the follow!

[Abigail]

Cool ending. I love pampering myself and being pampered. Great poem!

[V. W. Wilhelmina]

Thank you!

[Richard Helbert]

i thought it was good i like it though when things don't always flow perfectly, i think it makes it more unique and makes people read it with a slight bit more attention, anyway i liked it and thought your use of words and your imagery were nice

[V. W. Wilhelmina]

Wow many thanks!