It’s spreading

Traumas perpetually occur,
Every 21 seconds,
One person in the US,
Sustains a Traumatic Brain Injury,
These are the statistics,
This is what continually happens,
- We can be assured,
And now we are coming to know,
What we have already incurred.

Brain injury isn’t new,
Cave woman club man over head,
Back then,
You think it turned into something else instead?                          

Silenced,
Moving like a slug through time,
Brain injury then,
Brain injury now,
Epidemic…
Silently carrying on the infection somehow.

Do you think ADD did not exist 20 years ago?
Before the research…
It just wasn’t explored,
Now, it is quite prevalent,                              

Yet it is not new,
It’s a silent reality,
Until it affects you!
Why is brain injury soundless?
Car crashes are not quiet,
Yet the injury is reported to be silent,
Quieter than a whisper,
Why?
Perhaps…
Maybe…

 Mystery lays in the unknown -
Thoughts make noise,
Ignorance is quiet,
People aren’t aware,
Silence isn’t the epidemic,
The hush covers,
 Allows for infectious growth,
It spreads in a cloud of mystery…

Brain injury can even be invisible,
Folks can’t see it,
Haven’t heard about it,
Unblemished minds think,
What would it be without me?
What exactly is brain injury?

The Virus

We can trace symptoms
In several areas:
Cognitive, Emotional,
Psycho-social, Behavioral.
We’ve got to be careful,
When we categorize…
We don’t always see things,
Through holistic eyes.

One category rebounds
Off of the other,
Sometimes they blend,
Then it’s hard to tell one from another.
Scientists cut away to observe
One function with proficience,
But this profoundly takes away,
From the personal experience.
For science,
They’re trying to observe the facts,
But in real life,
It just doesn’t happen like that!

My crowned-prince,
Endured the epidemic,
For him, some think it’s just academic.
Sometimes he doesn’t feel he fits his role,
I encourage him,
To help him get more in control.
I give him regal countenance,
He’s the captain of my ship.
He takes me for a ride,
And connects me,
With the Silent One inside.

We work together as a team,
I try to feed his confidence,
Encourage his self-esteem.
If his motivation sinks to the ground floor,
I give positive feedback,
To help him up,
Then watch him soar!

Anti-bacterial

For a brain injury survivor,
The epidemic is far from quiet,
It is –
Pervasive,
Comprehensive,
Undeniable,

Life gets off skew,
GOT TO GET A BALANCE!
Organic dysfunction,
24-7… dealing!
Rehabilitation is a full time job.

Survivors want to scream from the hilltops!
Sing it to the masses,
Break the curse of silence!
No one wants to be denied,
We certainly don’t want to hide!

You need to know on the inside,
What it’s like to walk in my shoes,
I’m going to telepathically communicate it,
I need to,
I said it is my need
To communicate this with you.

I’ll take you on a fun trip,
Yes, and of brain injury
You’ll be more hip,
I have the will,
I am committed,
Determined,
I light on fire
On the mission -

Gray Matters    

The doors have been closed,
The mind and heart have yet to awaken,
We’re inserting the key
to open the gates,
Enter and you can feel,
It’s ok to care,
Because empathy heals.!

I said IT’S OK TO CARE
Melt those stones in there,
Love rebounds
When it’s found.
Gray Matters  

I’m calling to all around the nation,
Let us sing in chorus,
Break the silence,
Let’s raise a ruckus,
Hip, hip hoorah,
Hip, hip hooray,
Together,
We can draw a close
To the silent dismay.

This is a call to awareness -
I’m making a shout.
So the bacterial stain
We can clean out.

Pick up my book,
Listen to my rhyme,
I’ll have you captivated in no time!
Pass on the word of what you hear,
We are breaking the silence
Thanks to your receptive ear.
We’re paving the way for knowledge,
We are the pioneers…
Gray Matters!