Chris Rathburn
@apotheosystem.bsky.social
Author of the novels The Last Sage, War Dreams, Relentless, and Wayward Wyrd. Also, poetry and the odd short story.
#writing #writingcommunity #poetry
https://chrisrathburnbooks.com/
#writing #writingcommunity #poetry
https://chrisrathburnbooks.com/
I just figured out
Part of why I feel lonely
Is self repression
Building walls around myself
Until I get lost in there
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Part of why I feel lonely
Is self repression
Building walls around myself
Until I get lost in there
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
December 15, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I just figured out
Part of why I feel lonely
Is self repression
Building walls around myself
Until I get lost in there
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Part of why I feel lonely
Is self repression
Building walls around myself
Until I get lost in there
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Keep staying open
To the possibility
Of something better
Have a little faith sometimes
Not everyone's a bastard
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
To the possibility
Of something better
Have a little faith sometimes
Not everyone's a bastard
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
December 11, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Keep staying open
To the possibility
Of something better
Have a little faith sometimes
Not everyone's a bastard
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
To the possibility
Of something better
Have a little faith sometimes
Not everyone's a bastard
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Deciding to trust
Knowing that it may go wrong
Choosing anyway
Because this world is too cool
To miss backed into corners
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Knowing that it may go wrong
Choosing anyway
Because this world is too cool
To miss backed into corners
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
December 9, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Deciding to trust
Knowing that it may go wrong
Choosing anyway
Because this world is too cool
To miss backed into corners
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Knowing that it may go wrong
Choosing anyway
Because this world is too cool
To miss backed into corners
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Eventually
It came down to accepting
That I'd gotten lost
I couldn't fix it myself
And that I needed some help
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
It came down to accepting
That I'd gotten lost
I couldn't fix it myself
And that I needed some help
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
December 4, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Eventually
It came down to accepting
That I'd gotten lost
I couldn't fix it myself
And that I needed some help
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
It came down to accepting
That I'd gotten lost
I couldn't fix it myself
And that I needed some help
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Just a couple lines
That do not have much to say
Other than it's nice
To sit for a little while
And scratch down a couple lines
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
That do not have much to say
Other than it's nice
To sit for a little while
And scratch down a couple lines
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
December 3, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Just a couple lines
That do not have much to say
Other than it's nice
To sit for a little while
And scratch down a couple lines
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
That do not have much to say
Other than it's nice
To sit for a little while
And scratch down a couple lines
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
It all feels solid
Though it's all in transition
Never ever still
But from moment to moment
Everything feels permanent
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Though it's all in transition
Never ever still
But from moment to moment
Everything feels permanent
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
December 2, 2025 at 5:29 PM
It all feels solid
Though it's all in transition
Never ever still
But from moment to moment
Everything feels permanent
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Though it's all in transition
Never ever still
But from moment to moment
Everything feels permanent
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Looking back on things
Desperation to be loved
Came from a sick place
Where it seemed impossible
That love could come from within
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Desperation to be loved
Came from a sick place
Where it seemed impossible
That love could come from within
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
December 1, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Looking back on things
Desperation to be loved
Came from a sick place
Where it seemed impossible
That love could come from within
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Desperation to be loved
Came from a sick place
Where it seemed impossible
That love could come from within
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
This optimism
Doesn't come easy to me
Because I can see
The world and the way it is
Which just means I need it more
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Doesn't come easy to me
Because I can see
The world and the way it is
Which just means I need it more
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
This optimism
Doesn't come easy to me
Because I can see
The world and the way it is
Which just means I need it more
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Doesn't come easy to me
Because I can see
The world and the way it is
Which just means I need it more
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Intrusive thinking
Keeps keeping me up at night
It's getting better
It doesn't get me down now
It's only anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Keeps keeping me up at night
It's getting better
It doesn't get me down now
It's only anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 24, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Intrusive thinking
Keeps keeping me up at night
It's getting better
It doesn't get me down now
It's only anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Keeps keeping me up at night
It's getting better
It doesn't get me down now
It's only anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
It's not giving up
So much as accepting facts
There's no path forward
And it's time to figure out
A different way to go
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
So much as accepting facts
There's no path forward
And it's time to figure out
A different way to go
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 20, 2025 at 11:47 PM
It's not giving up
So much as accepting facts
There's no path forward
And it's time to figure out
A different way to go
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
So much as accepting facts
There's no path forward
And it's time to figure out
A different way to go
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Just a little guy
That used to think they were big
Compared to others
But in time they understood
The biggest specks are just specks
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
That used to think they were big
Compared to others
But in time they understood
The biggest specks are just specks
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 19, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Just a little guy
That used to think they were big
Compared to others
But in time they understood
The biggest specks are just specks
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
That used to think they were big
Compared to others
But in time they understood
The biggest specks are just specks
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
There's no sleep coming
Just the crescent of the moon
Slowly passing by
The sky begins to lighten
It still feels like yesterday
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Just the crescent of the moon
Slowly passing by
The sky begins to lighten
It still feels like yesterday
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 14, 2025 at 5:07 PM
There's no sleep coming
Just the crescent of the moon
Slowly passing by
The sky begins to lighten
It still feels like yesterday
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Just the crescent of the moon
Slowly passing by
The sky begins to lighten
It still feels like yesterday
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Knowing what's coming
And being okay with it
Until the ending
Fades off into the background
The same as the beginning
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
And being okay with it
Until the ending
Fades off into the background
The same as the beginning
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 14, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Knowing what's coming
And being okay with it
Until the ending
Fades off into the background
The same as the beginning
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
And being okay with it
Until the ending
Fades off into the background
The same as the beginning
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Pick up the pieces
Put them together again
Some have gotten lost
But new ones have shown up too
See how they fit together
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Put them together again
Some have gotten lost
But new ones have shown up too
See how they fit together
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 12, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Pick up the pieces
Put them together again
Some have gotten lost
But new ones have shown up too
See how they fit together
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Put them together again
Some have gotten lost
But new ones have shown up too
See how they fit together
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Quiet the echoes
When they start to get too loud
Practice soothing them
It just takes a few minutes
To get to feeling better
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
When they start to get too loud
Practice soothing them
It just takes a few minutes
To get to feeling better
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Quiet the echoes
When they start to get too loud
Practice soothing them
It just takes a few minutes
To get to feeling better
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
When they start to get too loud
Practice soothing them
It just takes a few minutes
To get to feeling better
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Pull it together
There's still a long way to go
So let's get going
Put some more miles behind us
Let's walk while we still have feet
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
There's still a long way to go
So let's get going
Put some more miles behind us
Let's walk while we still have feet
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Pull it together
There's still a long way to go
So let's get going
Put some more miles behind us
Let's walk while we still have feet
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
There's still a long way to go
So let's get going
Put some more miles behind us
Let's walk while we still have feet
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
It's been health issues
With no full recovery
For months and months now
And I would give anything
To feel like myself again
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
With no full recovery
For months and months now
And I would give anything
To feel like myself again
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 7, 2025 at 1:05 AM
It's been health issues
With no full recovery
For months and months now
And I would give anything
To feel like myself again
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
With no full recovery
For months and months now
And I would give anything
To feel like myself again
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Feel them welling up
All those difficult pieces
Just as much myself
As the bits that feel like home
But they never seem to fit
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
All those difficult pieces
Just as much myself
As the bits that feel like home
But they never seem to fit
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 5, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Feel them welling up
All those difficult pieces
Just as much myself
As the bits that feel like home
But they never seem to fit
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
All those difficult pieces
Just as much myself
As the bits that feel like home
But they never seem to fit
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
It's crazy how much
Of what everyone's doing
Is straight up guesswork
And how often things work out
Because of plain old dumb luck
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Of what everyone's doing
Is straight up guesswork
And how often things work out
Because of plain old dumb luck
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
November 3, 2025 at 7:02 PM
It's crazy how much
Of what everyone's doing
Is straight up guesswork
And how often things work out
Because of plain old dumb luck
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Of what everyone's doing
Is straight up guesswork
And how often things work out
Because of plain old dumb luck
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Everybody leaves
And it isn't good or bad
It's just how it is
Get comfortable with it
And be happy on my own
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
And it isn't good or bad
It's just how it is
Get comfortable with it
And be happy on my own
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
October 31, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Everybody leaves
And it isn't good or bad
It's just how it is
Get comfortable with it
And be happy on my own
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
And it isn't good or bad
It's just how it is
Get comfortable with it
And be happy on my own
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Tending the garden
That we have built together
All the little tasks
That keep it whole and special
There's nothing I'd rather do
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
That we have built together
All the little tasks
That keep it whole and special
There's nothing I'd rather do
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
October 30, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Tending the garden
That we have built together
All the little tasks
That keep it whole and special
There's nothing I'd rather do
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
That we have built together
All the little tasks
That keep it whole and special
There's nothing I'd rather do
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Watching the leaves turn
Like looking in a mirror
Autumn always fades
Into the cold, dark winter
But for now it's beautiful
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Like looking in a mirror
Autumn always fades
Into the cold, dark winter
But for now it's beautiful
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
October 29, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Watching the leaves turn
Like looking in a mirror
Autumn always fades
Into the cold, dark winter
But for now it's beautiful
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Like looking in a mirror
Autumn always fades
Into the cold, dark winter
But for now it's beautiful
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
These intrusive thoughts
Keep repeating every day
But tolerably
They don't have significance
I just have anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Keep repeating every day
But tolerably
They don't have significance
I just have anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
October 28, 2025 at 6:31 PM
These intrusive thoughts
Keep repeating every day
But tolerably
They don't have significance
I just have anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Keep repeating every day
But tolerably
They don't have significance
I just have anxiety
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
It's good to move on
To grieve and accept losses
Because they pile up
And bury everything else
Unless I'm willing to move
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
To grieve and accept losses
Because they pile up
And bury everything else
Unless I'm willing to move
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
October 24, 2025 at 5:18 PM
It's good to move on
To grieve and accept losses
Because they pile up
And bury everything else
Unless I'm willing to move
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
To grieve and accept losses
Because they pile up
And bury everything else
Unless I'm willing to move
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
Appreciating
All the good things going on
Everywhere I look
So I don't get discouraged
By all the insane bullcrap
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
All the good things going on
Everywhere I look
So I don't get discouraged
By all the insane bullcrap
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
October 23, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Appreciating
All the good things going on
Everywhere I look
So I don't get discouraged
By all the insane bullcrap
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety
All the good things going on
Everywhere I look
So I don't get discouraged
By all the insane bullcrap
Words: Mine
Image: AI
#WritingCommunity #poem #poetry #tanka #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety