Ativan

judges comment

When you read a poem by Maher you have to brace yourself for a journey through the darkness, the poet holds your hand and leads you through a tale of imagery and intrigue. Those first two lines grab your attention immediately. Then the next two lines push you down the hole. Here you amble along until the last line when you muse over the whole piece, then invariably read the poem again. Great work 4 points.

The medication within itself is a powerful and yet unsettling experience.
To be filled with depression and anxiety is enough to make a person feel
powerless and yet to be willing to take such a medication shows strength
to overcome depression. It's two fold in my opinion. This poem is very raw and
has opened the door to a ton of emotion,
I cant express how powerful this poem is.... its amazing!

Holy guacamole. This write resonates with me and I think you have such a powerful voice in your poetry. It's raw and unyielding and often uncomfortable, especially to confront the dark, or to express the way we feel suffocated. This reminded me of the cruel hold an anxiety or panic attack can have, of not only momentary but continually feeling like your lungs could give out or your life crushed.

All we want is to believe we are breathing, to not have our mind conflicting with every other part of our body. Anxiety traps us and we feel we cannot escape it. That's a reality for many of us, though we may have times of clarity and relief.

Striking piece. So glad to see this nominated.

SC - Sorry i didnt see this sooner. such a powerful piece..
Im glad its up for nomination..

Well said!