Elaina, a Supported Housing resident, shared a beautiful poem she wrote in tribute to our agency and most importantly to the people we serve. She feels it expresses the transformative nature of our new name, RISE!

Winged Creatures

We all must face change, regenerate, rejuvenate,
Embrace metamorphosis, a cathartic, beautiful necessity,
In order that we may not simply wither and stagnate,
Ending up as little more than a distant, dusty memory.

A tiny cocoon, given just a little time…
What a magically incredible transformation to behold.
Inside its plain, temporary trappings, it will twist and writhe,
Suddenly, from there, a strikingly colorful butterfly explodes.

Igniting the surroundings with a burst of vibrant shades and hues,
Revealing a serenity, the appearance of perfect fragility.
In the mixture of those lovely pinks, yellows, and blues,
We assume the butterfly is not strong because it is so lovely.

It gracefully swoops and flits,
Doing dips and figure eights, dancing in the air.
This new life is nirvana, some sort of blissful stimulant
Free of tension, no worries, no cares.

We must always somehow find a way to reanimate
To come back as more than we once were.
We must never forget to give thanks and celebrate,
Because our new world will truly hold much wonder.

Take the majestic Phoenix as it rises from the fall,
Now capable, beautiful, graceful, and strong.
The ashes, the prior misfortune matters not at all.
How could such perfection ever “not belong”?

All of us have wings, some are simply hidden from view.
They are powerful sources of strength and creativity,
With these wings, there is nothing one can’t do
I challenge you to seek, to find your wings and RISE!

 

Elaina has been writing poetry since she was 14. She took advanced literature classes in high school where she learned how to write poems.

Some of her poems were published in a local paper in Vermont where she grew up. In 2013, some of her poems were published in an anthology called Hear Me, See Me: Incarcerated Women Write.

The love of writing poetry has stayed with Elaina throughout her life and she has used it as a coping skill for many years.