In October of 2022, we released our second Open Call: How might we view healing in mental health through art, letters, stories and poetry following the pandemic? The following is a poetry submission we received from this open call.

“I write as a way to process my mental health and to work through my experiences. There is a lot of safety in writing, but primarily through poetry. We always have our minds, and since our brains are made to grow and develop our mental health should always be a priority.”

Molly McGrane

I See You in Every Broken Toy 

“Denial. There’s an imbalance when things go missing

Sometimes it’s obvious to see

A missing flag on a pinwheel makes all the others stop.

Puts drag on the others until they are stoic against the wind

Anger. There are consequences when things go missing

Sometimes impossible not to watch 

A missing wheel on a carriage makes all the horses rot. 

It sparks and burns and left unchecked can wreck everything on the road.

Bargaining. There’s silence when things go missing

Words that stick eventually all fall.

A missing person leaves behind memories that are changed

Every time by everyone that remembers them. 

Depression. I would’ve scoured the earth and I would’ve made the wretched pay

but when my flag, my wheel, my memories died I became too heavy to continue.”

About the Author

Molly McGrane is an author, artist, and student at Boston College. Her poetry chapbook, “Falling in Hate” is available through Bottlecap press. Her work has also been published by The Torrey House Press, The River, Heavy Feather Review, Snapdragon Journal, Pidgeonholes Magazine, TED.com, and more. You can learn more about Molly on her website Mollyrosemcgrane.com or on her Instagram @crunzo.

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