Today I give you a link to another blog. Sherry Blue Sky and I have become friends over the years; both poets, both mothers, both environmentally conscious. She is a Wild Woman who communes with wolves. I am an Old Hippie who communes with the mentally ill. We are mothers first, and she used a recent poem of mind (reprinted at her blog, with my permission) to springboard into the subject of her own family’s experience with mental disorders.
Please, please, just click the link and discover how two women who have never met face to face, who live in different countries, can communicate in the language of the mother’s heart. Peace, Amy
Sharp Little Pencil 
Sherry Blue Sky
Oh thanks, Amy. I would wish that every mother of a child suffering from mental illness remembers one thing: their child is still in there. We must never let them go. Must never believe they are lost to us. Sometimes our love is what keeps them on the planet. They are making their journey and so many of them make their way through hell to brightness and wisdom on the other side. They are heroic.
I LOVE the title of your previous post: Labor Room Blues (in the key of AARGH!) Hee hee.
Sharp Little Pencil
Sherry, just got off the phone with another mom whose daughter is battling depression while in grad school…. but this girl is tough, left her last psychiatrist because the dr. yelled at her for calling the emergency line in the middle of the night! Talk about someone who needs retraining, or perhaps should no longer be licensed to practice.
The “it gets better” campaign, aimed at gay teens who are bullied, can apply to this situation. Riley persevered against tremendous odds and she is doing the work it takes to succeed… thank God, she is blessed with a healthy ego!
Thanks, Sherry. And yes, glad you got a laugh out of that Labor Room Blues! Amy
Raven
I knew the moment that I met you through your blog that you were indeed a special person. I feel honored to have two such incredible people/poets in my life. This was a wonderful idea, simply wonderful and so beautifully executed. Thank you for such pleasure.
Sharp Little Pencil
This was Sherry’s idea, really, after reading my post on the mental ward where I was a guest… of sorts! And we have in common the fact that we are both mothers of children who live with mental disorders. We all have so much more in common than not, which I suppose is the consequence of being willing to open our hearts and allow them to bleed onto a page! Thanks, Raven. Peace, Amy
Josie Two Shoes
I came here, I read this, my heart stopped beating for a moment. I followed your link to Amy Blue Sky and read your poem there, and her response. Here is the comment that I left her… “I traveled here from Amy’s blog, and find myself with breath taken away. My story of many years ago lies written in these conjoined poems, as does my daughter’s life just a few years back. How good it is to know that there are others who understand the torment and terror, and yet how painful it is to realize that we have had to come to know. Powerful writing, powerful poetry… well done. One of the few times in my reading that I have struggled to reply. (That’s a good thing by the way, it means you moved me deeply.)
Sharp Little Pencil
Dear Josie, this is the most touching comment. Thank you for traveling to Sherry’s blog and coming back here. These types of exchanges, especially when they involve a topic we all have in common, are the most meaningful, and the reason I write. My calling is to break the cycle of shame, guilt, and fear for mental health patients… to show how we can thrive instead of perceiving ourselves as victims. It’s also a place for interaction – and Sherry’s courageous move, taking my poem and using it as a springboard for her own family’s story, was an example of the Web at its best.
I often am moved by a poem in a dark or “otherwise” way and hesitate to click the LIKE button, simply because of this dilemma. Peace, Amy
vivinfrance
Thank you for that link, Amy – to an emotional experience and a wonderful poem.
Sharp Little Pencil
Viv, you have rocked my world often enough, too. Thanks so much! Amy
kaykuala
It is amazing, Amy! I often wonder what could have been a drab existence otherwise! Not having met face to face but sharing a common bond. It goes the whole divide, really!
Hank
oncealibrarian
I have made four dear friends thanks to blogging – across the globe. I;m really pleased for you and Sherry, Long may you continue to share your experinces through the medium of poetry.
Inside the Mind of Isadora
A great poem on Sherry Blue Sky’s web – site. Thanks for posting this. An incredible write on a subject that I could so realte to.
Izzy xoxo
Sharp Little Pencil
Dear Hank, Libe, and Izzy,
Sorry, I’m having to “bulk reply” these days…
This particular moment, this communication and sharing of emotional resources, shows how close we can all become through the Net. The only danger for me is staying In the Net and not “dropping it” to go outside… It’s all about balance. But this friendship is indeed treasured. Sherry and I are different and alike, and that’s the thing – finding the common ground in your Venn diagram… Peace, Amy
monica
Hi. Read both. No reply needed but someday soon is love to some of the poetry I was gifted when at Gould Farm. They speak of both the pain and the hopelessness which you both comment on as well as the joy and new beginnings.