GET UP

It's noon.

She opens her eyes; body still curled

against the sinking mattress,

clinging to the worn blankets like a lifeline.

-

Sweat-stained pillows form

a shield wall

against spears of light

piercing through the glass.

-

She winces, her pain imagined.

Surely it burns her;

surely it's her enemy;

surely it's worse out there

then it is inside herself.

-

"Get up, get up..."

the wind cries from beyond,

its language scratching

into her window

in whistles and howls.

-

But her eyes are as empty

as her hearing is numb.

Not even the world

crying out to her

could get her to move.

-

This is the sixth poem in RE: SURGENCE, a poetry collection by Amanda Starks that shares what it's like to have and fight against mental illness in a free-form, lyrical prose.

Be aware that topics and themes may include suicide, self-harm, and isolation.

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