Fires of Anxiety

Fires of Anxiety

My seven-year-old,

tired, says to me,

from the backseat of our rental car

two days into a family vacation,

Everybody hates me.

Our first visit to the New Jersey shoreline

to a distant family reunion-

cousins many times removed,

twelve kids deep

into years of tradition,

games, and theme nights.

Newness sends my son reeling,

he crashes into the floor,

obsesses over schedules,

yearns for routine.

I hate how these feelings rise,

masked in unworthiness-

ready to fight

a big bad world

that never sees him as good enough.

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Jennie Linthorst, MA, CAPF is a therapeutic writing coach and the founder of LifeSPEAKS Poetry Therapy. She works privately with men and women helping them tell their stories and heal, through reading and writing poetry and personal essays. Jennie coaches clients all across the country and around the world via phone, Skype, e-mail, in addition to in person meetings. She is the author of a book of poems, Autism Disrupted: A Mother's Journey of Hope. Her family’s story is captured in the award-winning documentary film, “Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story”.