We Survive
We are exhausted, war torn and weather beaten survivors
We have been starving on the streets and a stranger in our own homes
We’re the Dudeists that still attend church 3 times a year to make their mother in law smile
We are the world’s poets and back alley artists whose brilliance will never be discovered or appreciated
We’re expected to navigate this chaos with shitty directions from unreliable secondhand sources like politics and religion
We are the single mother with 2 prescriptions to fill – Mother’s Little Helper and 1 for her “ADHD” child that’ll never be served next to their Flintstones
so mommy can work extra shifts
Life has made us hard and love has turned on us like a rabid animal – at least once – throwing out ‘I love yous ‘ like Monday morning trash, just to get what we want, too many times
We waterboard ourselves with tears spilled for injustice – for untreated mental health –
because we have hungy and homeless humans in every goddamn city – tears made of war, extremism, cruelty and collateral damage
We are broken and pieced back together over and over – reshaped, molded and bound by circumstances, happenstance, category Fuck You shit storms, karma, and our own bad decisions
And we still make time to have hope.
We are still creating art and enjoying books
We remain loyal and believe in equality
We allow ourselves to fall in love – especially if it’s with the same person again and again
We still have silver lined rainbows and daydreams
And we still try to believe
Jess Bryant is a feral artist born in the mountains of Tennessee. She was free range raised in southern Indiana and currently resides on her homestead in rural Ohio. She is polyamorous and loves spending time with her husband as well as her other life partner. Jess also enjoys caring for her farm animals, reading, gardening, and creating oddity art.
