The Wildflowers

I wrote this piece before our young wildflower died and I read it to her…I remember how she smiled.

“Yeah, that’s It” she said. And then she added “Build it. They will come.”

To the wildflowers who follow here, may God grant this Sanctuary

Our Story—The Wildflowers 

You see, it starts barely past a seed 

In early development 

We were pollinated

And positioned to grow 

In the harshest, darkest  environment 

Despite the odds

The cruelest weather

Nearly choked off among the weeds

Yet we fought….

Silently 

We fought…..

We fought fear 

We fought anxiety 

We fought pain on the deepest level 

We fought haunting dreams 

The kind that make you hold your breath 

And muscles tightly 

Not for hours or days 

But for years 

This harsh environment 

We were forced to live in 

Begin to spread

And seep

First through our body 

Deep into mind and soul

Like an insidious weed 

Transforming to rare disease

We sought care

Through the medical system 

They shunned and turned their heads 

Stumped 

We are labeled 

And cast away

So instead of speaking our truth

We are silenced 

Losing strength 

And hope 

We strive  to live 

Yet we feel like

The living dead 

We cry for the 

Sun and rain 

To quench our thirst 

To touch our pain

We stand alone 

Longing for shelter 

From this  nightmare

And unyielding storm 

Traumatized 

Sick in body 

We cry 

Who hears?

Who answers?

Our cries 

While we wait  

Our bodies 

And minds

Begin to bend 

And break 

We tried 

To fit in 

To be understood 

To find rest 

A slice of peace 

Where do we go?

Please grant us 

A safe place

For we are the strongest

The fiercest 

We endured the 

Unimaginable 

We dug our roots deep

In the place we were sown 

Where is our place of healing?

Back to the forest we go 

To nature 

To be nurtured

Understood 

Valued

Cared for 

Not to mold us 

But to mend us 

A healing sanctuary 

Wildflowers 

Thrive in the breeze 

Along with water and trees 

There we find 

Our sanctuary 

To heal holistically 

In harmony  

We reveal our truth 

Find our voice 

No longer silenced 

We are strengthened 

In a community 

Of acceptance and love 

That embraces 

Our medical complexity 

Our diversity 

Our uniqueness 

Here, we are heard 

Here, we are purely loved