Best Rehabilitation Poems
ODE TO CRUTCHES
I had a knee replacement so I needed help
I could not walk safely by myself
So, I was given two sturdy crutches
And once I got them in my clutches
I walked here and there and everywhere
With more confidence but a bit of care
With physio my knee grew stronger
Two crutches I needed no longer
So, I progressed to just using one
My recovery had begun
I exercised at home and did physio at Westmead
I was very keen to succeed
To cut a very long story short
I am very happy to report
They helped me a lot but now that I’m stronger
I do not need crutches any longer
I have a long way to go
It won’t be easy, that I know
Thank you to all the people that help me every day
With their support and encouragement I know I will be okay.
Bob’s accident was not "too" bad;
young lady with both legs broken.
Driving on drugs, he’s ultra rad;
“Go to Rehab,” judge has spoken.
Meanwhile... she goes to rehab too;
Bev learns to walk again, wahoo.
When laws and legs guys freely break,
what’s “legit” walks off the pages.
Their lawyers give this bellyache,
“We don’t put addicts in cages!”
Meanwhile... last time Bob tests a tort,
Bev appears as lawyer in court.
written May 26, 2018
She pushes my wheelchair
Rolling me past the nurses station
Rolling me down the long bright hallway
Rolls me into the room with all those machines
All I want to do is go for a l o n g w a l k _ — _ — _ — _ — _ — _
For Julia Ward’s Rehabilitation contest.
Written May 24th 2018.
AR Strong has assisted many people on their road to recovery.
A great facility in Vancouver Canada.
one step at a time stands still
when the ringing in the ears
and the haze and nausea clears
a broken body sighs
ready for the next
05/22/18
Julia Ward's
Rehabilitation -Poetry Contest
The patients often rock back and forth,
or pace as if to move away
from their frustrations,
their situation, their self,
but the same always follows.
Their only task is existence...
yet such a heavy endeavor,
like moving through thick mud,
always messy and often stuck.
As long as they remain their same selves,
they remain a prisoner of themselves,
haunted by screams of unworthiness,
threats of unforgiveness,
and insistence of victimization.
Psychologists ask questions
and sometimes make suggestions.
Doctors dictate medications.
Many have chemical dependency
or a congenital chemical imbalance
and lack the physical capacity to be happy,
in the same way someone with kidney failure
would die without dialysis.
Patients regress into numbness,
an unintrusive seclusion
and an attempt to avoid
misery's self-abusing mind.
Some find an escape,
by God's grace,
faithfully willing their way
out of their mental detention and
the "Rehabilitation" Center Prison.
An ox can pull a weighted cart daily.
With mirrored force, I grapple to lift my right leg.
A toddler wobbles in his first steps,
but struggling, we inevitably became able to walk.
Hugging the wall, like a child in the deep pool, I rise up.
She gasps now, in pain
As the gentle therapist
Extends her ballooning limb
~ In childbirth's pangs
Ends always justified means
She was brutally raped
And sent home, her father's rage
Mixed with mother's curse
Rehabilitated her in marriage
With the rapist,à la carte.
Rehabilitation Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Julia Ward
Free verse poetry form only.
25th May, 2018
Freed* from addiction’s chains and imprisoning misery…
Rescued from bondage of liability as a disgraced social deviant
Especially upheld by the Saviour with His transforming compassion-might!!!
Empowered now to prevail with faith over haunting rehab-rigors!
Deliverance-delight drives toward victorious life!
*Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
May 17, 2018
3rd Place, Best Free Verse Poem in May 2018
Sponsored by Laura Loo; judged on 7/3/2018.
You ask me what I was?
Meek solitude sustained in armored mantle
a wave of movement never moving onward
a shade lost in humanity’s shadows
and nothing … before you
A little friction
Placed on our mind
Shared by the place and time
Beating against the grind
Willing ourselves to find
What's making us feel insane
What's coursing through our veins
Poisoning ourselves
Trying to ease the pain
Inducing trauma to the brain
Even though it still remains
It's the only thing we praise
We choose to be Castaway
From a world led astray
Too stuck in our ways
In a paralyzing daze
Over and over again
Making the same mistakes
How long will it take
Till we learn how to cope
To reach the peak
Of a slippery slope
Hard to climb
As drug rates increase
And mental health declines
Soon to be deceased
In a race against the time
Too late to go back to before
Looking towards the future
Or maybe the next score
But what's it all for?
Closing the door
But what's it all for?
Searching for more
Trying release the tension
But that's the thing about depression
It goes against convention
We need help to understand
Time for an intervention
To build a smarter plan
Free from constriction
Take my hand
To the Promised Land
Against the barriers of restriction
Finding the answers beyond infliction
Make a stand
In the fight against ADDICTION
Every time John Bull brings the holly
Out of the woods
I go where my poinsettias grow merrily
To see the fire glows
Red like blood in leaves defying
The winter's coming and the cold
Every time a spruce, pine or willow
Is cut down to carry shards of sun
Or rewrite the history of the cross
I wander from home with heavy sighing
Torn up by the forest lost
To keep its pride each winter's blast
And I go the rocks to see below
The sea's white fury crash
In scowling anger
Sweeter than the bells jingling by stores
The carols mingling
Love with trade and vanity
I want something more
A little purer than all commerce creed
I want the scent of sorrel dripping
From the kitchen's eave
The baker's barters stirring
And the old katacu smoking
The prepared fish and meat
O not for the feast as you supposed
But for mother's presence
In the first season of her absence
She hung poinsettias
And brew and roast and bake
While she sorted drapes and curtains out
And sang the alto happy carols
As she designated us to our task
Ah Christmas was her presence here
Nothing more
I go to the shore to give my wounded soul some rest
While parching for the milk of happiness
Out of water
Moses killed a task master
And hid the body.
In the wilderness
Forty years and reconciled
Called by Burning Bush
Out of the desert
Moses, the deliverer,
Set God's people free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A true Pharisee
Of Pharisees, Paul stood by
Consenting killings.
Killing more Christians
Blinded, thrown off his high horse
Sent to a Christian
The scales fell away.
Paul became a man of God...
Trusted apostle.
I agreed to do it
So that I can get my family and life back
Taking this step by step and bit by bit
Praying that I'll never go back to that
My family loves me so much that they decided to help me
To keep me from going further down
To help and make me see
That this is not where I really want to be
It came as a shock because I didn't know they cared
I didn't think they missed me
But little did I know, because they could no longer bare
The thought and look of me being so miserably
They missed the warm kisses and hugs
The friendly smile
The welcoming love
The thought of me being happy by not being on drugs
One night of listening to someone else
Got me looking at these three white walls and one blue door
I caused this on myself
But never no more
God brought my family to me before it was too late
So once I get out of here
I plan to get my life straight
I plan to never be back here
God gave me another chance and I'm going to use it wisely
No more drugs and no more streets
It's now all about me and my family
Once again being happy
Total humiliation
Finally hit rock bottom
Knew it was time to ask for help
Waiving the white flag in desperation
Rehab crew, take me I’m yours
AP: Honorable Mention 2021