🕯️ Featured Guest Poem
✨ For the souls who are still here, even when it hurts.

Some poems arrive like lifelines—woven from truth, pain, grace, and the quiet strength of survival. They don’t offer easy answers, but they do offer space. Space to feel. To breathe. To be reminded that healing is messy, nonlinear, and still… deeply sacred.

“To the Ones Who Feel Like Ghosts” by Shiann is exactly that kind of poem.

“I wrote it with the intention to give some kind of guidance, space and hope,” Shiann said. “Because being someone who suffers from mental health issues and trauma, I know how easy it is to get lost when trying to heal. It’s hard, and it can feel like there’s a veil covering the eyes of the soul. But healing doesn’t always have to be painful—it just needs to be honest. And when it’s honest, it’s done with grace.”

This poem is a sanctuary for anyone who’s ever wondered if they’re too far gone to be found again.
It’s a reminder that even in the dark, even when we feel like ghosts in our own lives—
we are still becoming.

I am deeply honored to feature this as the first-ever guest poem on my blog.
Let it meet you wherever you are. Let it be a soft place to land.

“To the Ones Who Feel Like Ghosts”
for the souls who are still here, even when it hurts

If you’re reading this with tired eyes,
barely holding on,
wondering if the road even leads anywhere—
this is for you.

For the ones who feel like life keeps happening
to them
instead of with them.
For the ones who keep giving love
and getting silence in return.
For the ones who wake up
and already feel behind.

You are not broken.
You are becoming.

I know it feels like you’re crumbling.
Like everything you touch slips through your fingers
and every breath tastes like defeat.
But listen closely:

Some things fall apart
because they were never meant to hold your becoming.
You were not made to stay small
just to make others comfortable.
You were not made to disappear
just to survive.

Your mess does not cancel your magic.
Your doubt does not erase your worth.
You can feel lost
and still be on your path.

You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You don’t need to feel good all the time.
You don’t even need to know where you’re going.
You just need to keep going.

Because there is a version of you waiting—
not perfect, not fixed—
but free.
Free from shame.
Free from the lie that healing must be fast or pretty.
Free to speak gently to the parts of yourself
that never heard a kind word.

So take your time.
Cry if you need to.
Start over as many times as it takes.

Just don’t stop being you.
Even if you don’t know who that is yet.

There is peace here,
not in perfection—
but in presence.
In letting yourself exist
exactly as you are.

So breathe.
Rest.
Begin again.

You’re not alone.
And you’re not lost.
You’re just on your way home.

🇺🇸 United States

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – Call or text 988
https://988lifeline.org
Free, 24/7 support for emotional distress and mental health crises.

Crisis Text Line – Text HOME to 741741
https://www.crisistextline.org

—

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Samaritans – Call 116 123 (free, 24/7)
https://www.samaritans.org

—

🇦🇺 Australia

Lifeline Australia – Call 13 11 14
https://www.lifeline.org.au

Kids Helpline (ages 5–25) – Call 1800 55 1800
https://www.kidshelpline.com.au

—

🇨🇦 Canada

Talk Suicide Canada – Call 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645
https://talksuicide.ca

—

🇵🇭 Philippines

Hopeline Philippines
Call: 0917 558 4673, (02) 8804 4673, or 2919 (toll-free for Globe & TM)
https://www.hopelineph.com

—

🌍 Global

Befrienders Worldwide – Emotional support in 30+ countries
https://www.befrienders.org

Suicide Prevention Wiki (International Hotline Directory)
https://suicidestop.com/call_a_hotline.html

If this poem spoke to you, know you’re not alone on your journey. Healing is not a race or a destination, but a series of moments where grace meets courage. May Shiann’s words remind you to breathe, to rest, and to keep moving forward—one step, one breath, one honest moment at a time.

Thank you for sharing this space with us.

With respect and gratitude,
— Rowan Evans
The Luminous Heretic

🔗 You Might Also Like…

The Pilgrim Road Is Not Paved in Gold – A Poem About Healing and Resilience