Start Silencing the Sirens
Content warning: suicide or self-harm, mental illness and ableism, and death/ dying
Description
The original poem “Start Silencing the Sirens” focuses on the impact of mental health issues in the time of and following the COVID-19 global pandemic. With the generalized worsening of the public’s mental health, this poem attacks the pain of depression in the pandemic’s isolation. Through sharing individual experience, the poem intends to bring awareness to the connectivity that speaking out can bring.
About the Artist
Sabrina (They/She) is a second-year double majoring in Professional and Public writing and English with a creative writing concentration. They have been writing poetry for years as a way of self-expression and advocacy. Beyond poetry, she enjoys writing fiction in the genres of horror and romance
Reflection
In 2021, I found a compassionate home within poetry. Parts of life, even in general, the way each person has to move through life is hard, sometimes incomprehensible and indigestible. Poetry for the past four years has been my intestines, my heart, my stomach. Poetry has become my way to digest my emotions and bring understanding to my personal experiences. Before poetry, I had a centered background in journalistic and professional writing. Through this new mode, I could heal from things I didn’t know were breaking me down. I developed my love for creativity again after limiting educational opportunities. When I found the CREATE! Microgrant, I had just a memory written down, far buried in my folders. One that haunted me beyond just that one evening, the sounds of sirens still left goosebumps at every pass. I decided to brave the memory, and write something in the spark of this opportunity. I didn’t think anything positive could come of my writing, of this memory I scribbled down. Being awarded the CREATE! Microgrant encouraged me to brave more poetry outside of my comfort, pushing me to make work that can bring impact to those experiencing the same things I once did.
When I created this poem, I learned the importance of healing. I have avoided the memories from my deep depression because it took me back to the worst years of my life. As a result, I felt just as alone everyday of my life as I did in those “worst years.” Holding those memories in caused the pain to fester and remain as something for me to hold onto and fear; never truly healing. But after I wrote this poem, I was able to make a perspective change towards even just this one memory. It was hard to remember what that time felt like, but then I saw that my experiences can be a reflection that there is something better.