By Angie, USA
Serene came through the other day
Tossed her pennies in the lake
And came to me
So thirsty, pale and weak
Buckling knees and peeling skin
Said she would return again
But new dirt and new fairytales
Had chased her away
So I run the water, exhale and then I say
Serene
I’m clean
Serene
Don’t leave me
She wandered off one autumn night
Left a letter by my side
Said she’d return to me
When I had some kind of certainty
After all that we had done
She held my hand through setting suns
And left me here
I could not replace her
I chased her away
So I run the water, exhale and then I say
Serene
I’m clean
I can’t lose
I can’t lose you Serene.
I love using creativity to express what I have gone through in my 12 years of struggling with OCD. My favorite form of expression is songwriting; it helps me tell my story in a powerful way because the tone of the music can highlight the lyrics and paint a picture of the mood I want to convey. With “Serene”, I wanted to personify the feeling of relief that I get when I wash my hands after touching something I perceive as dangerous, giving life to the feeling and also giving it the gravity it has in my mind. This “being” called Serene is chased away by my intrusive thoughts and returns only when I have certainty that I am not in danger or putting someone else in danger. So I plead with her in the chorus, “Serene, I’m clean, Serene, don’t leave me.”
You can listen to more of Angie’s music here.
Categories: The Salon
The Secret Illness 