When we are going through a hard time, it can be very difficult to let other people in. Healing looks different for everybody. But healing is a process that is better when we show up for each other. We need to be there for one another and share in each other’s struggles. We need people to show up and to be present, even if it’s uncomfortable. And sometimes, we need words of encouragement to soothe our aching souls.
If you are hurting right now, I hope that these words help you see that you’re not alone. If you know someone who is hurting right now, maybe these poems will help them too. We are all in this crazy, messy, beautiful life together. Let’s encourage one another and walk alongside each other as much as we can. And, when we can’t find the words to say, maybe we can find the poems that can. Here are a few encouraging words from poet, Raquel Franco.
1.
amongst the fear + doubt tumble
protect your cherry blush smile,
your baby’s breath peace,
your juniper laughter,
and magnolia hope.
protect it. protect it. protect it.
I loved this piece because it can be so hard for us to protect our peace when we are going through hard times. We have to do everything we can to hold onto hope and find the beauty in our circumstances. Sometimes, we will need someone else to help us do this, and that’s okay. We get through together. We hold onto hope, to peace, to laughter, together.
2.
There will be seasons
where your branches
don’t bear leaves
and it feels like
the sky will never grant
you another sunny day
but you will reach
a reckoning.
Don’t let these cold days
define you.
Every season has a cycle, and you won’t be in the cold forever. It can be hard to remember this in a winter season of the heart, but spring is around the corner, and the winter frost doesn’t define you.
3.
My hope has turned brittle
beneath these sour clouds.
I wait for the weather to change,
for the branches to bloom,
for the sky to pivot.
These winter hours have stretched
longer than a season
but I will wait. I will wait.
There are times when our hardships feel like they’ve lasted forever. Sometimes, they span much longer than a typical season should and we are left feeling lost. When we start losing hope, sometimes all we can do is wait. Keep going. Keep breathing. Day by day, you will walk through this winter.
4.
If you have breath
you have purpose.
You are an instrument,
a testament,
that these minutes
can be survived.
This one goes so well with the previous poem because it reminds the readers that to live is to have a purpose. You are a walking, breathing story of survival, and your story of resilience may be exactly what someone else needs to continue fighting too.
5.
When darkness comes,
remember you are resilient.
You will find your way
by the moonlight.
The light isn’t always a bright, radiant sun in our lives. It might need to be sought after. It might be more subtle. But, if you look up, you’ll see that the moon and the stars hold onto hope for you. The light is still there, even when it’s not as obvious.
6.
Your heart
will find its strut again.
This imagery reminds the reader that their heart will find confidence again. I loved the idea of the heart strutting again, finding its rhythm and finding its way back after a hard time. If you haven’t felt like yourself lately, I hope this serves as a reminder that your heart WILL get its vibrance back and so will you.
7.
Sometimes,
the wreckage
brings you home.
It may take a while to see, but usually, our pain has led us somewhere new. It may be somewhere completely unexpected and it may have been an excruciating journey. But, the tearing down of what we thought we knew can bring us back to basics. It can remind us who we are and what matters. And, in this way, it can truly bring us home again.
I chose these particular pieces because I love how they acknowledge how pain is all about processing and perspective. We need to let each other feel the hurts and weather the hardships before we are ready to move on. And through it all, we can still hold onto the hope that the pain has a purpose.
