Mental Health by Danelia Martinez

In my culture, we don’t really speak about mental health 

We tell our mothers our heartaches 

And praying to God always seems to be the answer 

I asked God about my mother’s heartbreak 

He showed me a picture of my grandma 

These tears don’t serve justice 

We don’t deserve to suffer 

There are ghosts under my bed 

And if we don’t confront them 

They become monsters 

There’s so much weight and water 

From generational tears we never shed 

That we could float in them 

Mom, I want to heal 

without you calling me selfish 

Or ungrateful 

And I want you to know 

I can no longer carry this family’s pain 

It’s not God nor destiny 

Your daughter doesn’t need that 

She just needs love 

It’s my head 

And my heart 

I AM NOT OK 

And I know you aren’t either 

Because your mother never let you cry 

Because her mother never let her cry either 

But Ama I am the cycle breaker 

And this is why I write to you today 

So we can speak on the ghosts that haunt us And set them free 

Dear heart 

It’s ok you can cry now 

It doesn’t make you weak 

You deserve to heal

Let’s talk about mental health