In a world of screens, I feel the strain,
Mental health battles I can’t explain.
Soccer dreams on field of green,
But Isolation’s shadow lurks, unseen.
The laptop hums with endless sound,
Water flow is nothing like peace,
McDonalds' light, a comfort so near,
Mom’s voice, like music, is so loud.
Siblings laughing, moments to escape,
But in the quiet, it’s no longer the same.
A Wingstop meal, just some fries,
To taste freedom, to stop the lies.
Through all the noise, through all stress,
I search for peace, but I can't.
Quiet Struggles came from my own experiences with mental health, those moments where I found some comfort in little things like family or food, but still feel the weight of isolation. I wanted to show how there's always an underlying sense of struggle even in small moments of joy. By doing so, I was able to use imagery like a soccer game or a meal to represent these brief moments of escapes, while also capturing the emptiness of loneliness showing the contrast between each other. My name is Jazet Flores, a passionate student born and raised in Houston, Texas. He was raised by two immigrant parents who were from Guatemala and decided to leave so I could have a better life.
"This poem was very powerful. I felt the up and down of the emotion. Thank you for sharing this!"
--Jill Ribbeck