Author: acnatalm

I have really been off the game for a long time.

We are all sick of hearing about the pandemic and how it changed the world. So we have all experienced the effects one way or the other.

For me the beginning of the pandemic thrust me into the frontlines in healthcare. I had a great team of people that wanted to make a difference and we did.

But that whole experience created a reset point and lead to a lot of changes and forced this project to back burner.

Hopefully that phase is behind me and maybe we can pick up where we left off.

So here are the translations for the two Spanish poems in the book.

The first is Castillos which translates to Castles

CASTLES

I have seen castles in the sky

Palaces of indisputable beauty

These are not castles on clouds

But castles made of actual clouds

Palaces of the kingdom of fantasy

Where dreamers are kings

And dreams nourish the soul

It is here that dreams, fantasy, and reality

Unite and ascend into the firmament

And beyond, embracing each other for all eternity.

The second is Angel which is pretty self-explanatory.

ANGEL

In my dreams, I see an angel in the distance

And with merely a glance I am filled with hope

An angle that I barely see, so distant

And yet I can feel its sighs

Even its skin brushing up against my heart.

With barely a whisper it calls me

To come closer

Only to beg me to move away

With its words break me

Its caress burns me

And with kisses, recreates me.

Hearing its name moves me

And to its feet I fall, defeated.

Angle who has stolen my heart

This angel that destroys all reason

This angel that I see in my dreams

This angel

This angel is you.

I am going to try and post commentary about some of the poems in the book.

Let’s start with one of my motivators: Depression.

Most people have felt depressed, sad, melancholic, or just down from time to time.  This is normal and it’s not depression in and of itself.  No. The depression I speak of is orders of magnitudes greater, darker, deeper.

I had an extended bout of it in my teens.  It was so debilitating that I can’t even find words adequate enough to express its intensity.  Those who have experienced it know exactly what I mean.

The poems, Vow, and Tempest Looming are my attempt at capturing the sense that depression leaves you with. The sense that it is lurking waiting for a moment of weakness. A vicious predator stalking its prey.

I found my own way out of the pit of despair and developed a system to keep depression at bay that seems to have worked for me. I needed to become more self-aware, to easily identify what emotions I was feeling. This helped me identify signposts that served as early warnings that depression may be encroaching.

I would recommend anyone who is dealing with depression, seek help. Find a support group, a mental health provider, counselor, or such. There is absolutely no shame in it. You also have to find a way to self-analyze, to get to know your inner self.  Most people don’t have a clue about themselves.

Think about. When you are all alone, just before bed, do you like you? Do you know you? Do you know what you are feeling right now?