85 Self-Help Psalm
*%
if you live in this city you have witnessed beau/tiful things
like the joy of a cool empty train car, or a fa/lafel sandwich
but within your daily commute lies the horrors/ of the earth
we have grown accustomed to the noise/ and the smells
The stench of profit hangs a/bout our sidewalks
the perfume of madness wafts a/long our halls
remember that the first step/ is to breathe
your brain will begin to calm itself if you focus/ on your breath
the second step is to name the way that/ you are feeling
this practice will bring you self knowledge/ and humble you
The more honest you can be about the origin/ of your emotions
the closer you are to being able/ to control them.
The third step is to practice/ gratitude
You are among the luckiest humans that/ have yet lived
You are not alone in your confusion, you can reach/ people you love
Asking for help is healthy, helping someone/ will feel good.
everything around you is a gift waiting/ to be opened
especially the friendships that/ you might build.
The fourth step is to make/ a decision
you must escape the melancholy to move/ the plot forward
The fifth step is to hug someone; this is/ the best step.
A hug is an invite only party; and we are/ all invited.
London
William Blake (1757-1827)
I wander thro’ each charter’d street,
Near where the charter’d Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear
How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls
But most thro’ midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse
https://www.theratnyc.com/event-details/verse-aloud-poetry-night-2026-02-04-17-30