“I don’t want a record of being broken.”

Memories can be the sharpest of thorns. Like wilted roses we keep walking around with our heads down searching for light to provide warmth. So what happens when that ray pierces through the dust of your storm shelter? It illuminates the false comfort you’ve buried yourself in, highlights the scars you’ve tried to camouflage within and offers you a lifeline strong enough to pull you above ground instead of the thread you’ve been hanging by.

“Smokescreen” carries a narrative of emotional wounds that bloom into clarity. It descends just for a bit into the depths of very personal and mostly veiled mental battles before surfacing to reveal healing.

I’m trusting you to hear my hurt, now that it’s no longer misplaced. Emotions are too powerful to be improperly aimed.

A few of these poems were written in real time. However, most of the words came to me as I stumbled into the downward spiral that can often be identified as memory lane. Involuntarily remembering pain from my youth that hitched a ride and remained vividly in view on the route to adulthood before finally fading into the stability of art and testimony.

A smokescreen is designed to conceal. It will fog up even the brightest of eyes as it hides the pain clinging to your mind. Are you willing to lower your smokescreen? I’m unlocking mine. I know the skeleton key that opens every door. Does your broken heart feel so heavy you fear it might cave in? Is your soul dry? Do you disguise trauma with a smile? If depression wraps itself around you and anxiety breathes down your neck, I’d love to introduce you to the peace I met through the death and resurrection of a divine carpenter who rebuilt my tattered spirit.

Smokescreen is a collection of words that I hope might keep you company when you need a friend who understands. Maybe it’s okay. Maybe when we can’t escape ourselves, we can find safety in someone else. Maybe if we let each other cry, we won’t feel the need to hide. Even if tears soak into our pillowcases, the smoke doesn’t have to burn our eyes.

Three Owls Publishing

“Electric Blue” the soundtrack to “Smokescreen” is now available on all music platforms.