MHI: DESPITE IT ALL by Deborah LeBlanc

Trigger Warning: This post addresses mental health

The HWA is pleased to launch its Mental Health Initiative, a coordinated roll-out of events, resources, and activities intended to promote positive mental health, foster the concept of hope, and challenge the stigma of mental illness in the horror genre. The initiative, run by the organisation’s Wellness Committee, launches in June, and includes the following blog posts from Of Horror and Hope, a downloadable anthology of poems, flash fiction, and personal reflections on mental health by HWA members.

DESPITE IT ALL
Deborah LeBlanc

She learned to shrink when very young
Unnoticed meant safety—a good thing
For visibility’s colors were black and blue
Colors she hated.
Years went by, but the colors didn’t, so
She began writing horror to escape the colors
And it worked…for a while
As time went on, however, she soon
Discovered things more horrid than black and blue.
Having your soul chopped into pieces
Knowing an emptiness too profound
For words. Even words touted in horror.
Again, time passed as it will
And somehow through the colors and splintered soul
She learned to stand upright
To stand tall and do it all
Because that was really
What was meant to be
All along