Community In Recovery

Inspiration: We discussed the topic of Community in Recovery in an alumni meeting a while back and it resonated with me, so I wrote the following piece. 

We are the aftermath and the answer.
Ashes still glow,
but so do we.
Bent by the weather,
not broken by the sea.

We are a community in recovery –
proof that pain isn't the end of the story.

Not perfect.
Not polished.
Not pristine.

But present.
Persistent.
Still seen.

Some climbed out of bottles.
Some crawled out of grief.
Some fought battles in public,
some searched for relief
from wars behind curtains,
behind smiles and belief.

But here we stand.

Hand in hand.
Heart to heart.
Taking shattered pieces
and making new art.

Recovery isn't a ladder.
It's a dance.
A stumble.
A chance.

One step back.
Two steps through.
Learning that healing
is something we do.

We carry our scars,
but we don't carry shame.
We've been through the fire
and still speak our names.

We used to call it chaos.
Now we call it growth.
Making peace with our past
while investing in hope.

Patience.
Practice.
Purpose.
Grace.

Finding our footing,
finding our place.

Every hard truth.
Every new skill.
Every choice to keep going
when standing still would be easier still.

So, when they ask,
"What does recovery look like?"
We'll tell them:
It looks like courage.
It looks like care.
It looks like showing up
when life isn't fair.

It looks like community.
It looks like trust.
It looks like rising
because rise we must.

We fall.
We feel.
We heal.

And still –
we rise.