Celebrating National Poetry Month: Royal Flush

I was dealt a pretty crummy hand. I contracted paralytic polio at age 5 and at the age of 8, my alcoholic father sexually, physically and emotionally abused me. My psychotic grandmother used torture rituals. My mother was addicted to prescription pain medication. My father died by suicide when I was 17 years old. Yet I was the valedictorian of my high school class and left for college a few weeks after his suicide. Eleven years ago, after the diagnosis Post-Polio Syndrome I had to dig deep and decide whether or not I was going to choose life or a slow death succumbing to the diagnosis of a progressive neuromuscular disease. I chose life as I always had despite the seemingly odds stacked against me.

After the diagnosis, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. I discovered the gift of poetry in my soul and the healing power of poetry.

I created a collection of my poems that I wrote during my 10 year healing odyssey to heal the effects of paralytic polio and trauma: "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life".

Here is one of my favorites in honor of National Poetry Month:

Royal Flush

One could say I was dealt a hand of crummy cards to play
at first blush I would have to agree
bluffing became my way of life
playing my cards close to my chest
ever vigilant
shifting eyes
wondering
do I continue to play or fold?

The stakes were high
I could no longer up the ante
living on the edge
waiting to find freedom only in death
every day a living death
something had to give
new rules
unconditional love
trust
strength
courage
steadiness
releasing fear by experiencing fear
losing self consciousness
opening my heart.

I bet everything I had
riding on hope, faith and a prayer

“I’m all in”
putting my cards on the table
there it was
a royal flush!

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc. Be sure to visit us at Booth 758 during Boston Marathon Weekend.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):