My Many Selves and I

Sometimes I slip
to previous versions
of myself.
It’s easy.
See,
because they aren’t persons
but moments in time,
where everything
that happened
in my whole life
combined
in perfect
Unity.

Sometimes I slip
to previous versions
of myself
to further
heal wounds
that
I couldn’t
at the time.
These formers
of self
never die.
They just wait,
silent,
to be further aligned.

I do not have one person
living inside
but many,
Periods,
Stages,
Wayfarers,
Guides,
pointing the way
to my truth.

Upon discovery
of
lessons
and
healing
my own
aphorisms obtained,
the ones hurting
step forward.
“I’d like to know the same.”
Healing myself
heals many
forwards
backwards
down the line.

Like a river
meets every new stone
and over it
glides,
learning the landscape
like a love
ever changing
around bends
and waterfalls
so too do
my many selves
and I.

The self is fluid
sometimes in tumult
at times free falling
into an abyss
only to coalesce
to meet ourselves
calm
or raging,
whatever serves
our highest purpose
down time’s river.
Our many selves
aligned
over the landscapes
of time.

Angel Marie Russell is a mental health advocate, writer, musician, and artist devoted to sharing her experience with PTSD as a survivor of domestic violence and child abuse through writing, music, and art. She is the writer and creator of Sergeant Sparrow, a music, art, and literary blog; Lost Ghost, a poetry and writing blog; and PTSD survivors of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse, a Facebook page.