HP Rivers

  • Cactus

    I asked my spouse To stop buying me flowers – “Buy me a houseplant instead, So I don’t have to watch them die.” So now my “Sorry you got assaulted” cactus Sits on the mantle Next to Uncle Frank and the “Congratulations on 6 months sober!” cactus And the one I picked up For her…

    HP Rivers

  • Cinnamon

    When I say/“I love you”/What I mean is…

    HP Rivers

  • Identify

    “I identify as a forest gremlin,” They say, Their tree limb appendages Hugging bark – A true flower child. I identify as: The last tree I climbed, At four years old – I identify as: Fear, As if by magic, Turned anxiety Turned self-doubt Turned shame Turned power As I clung To a too-high branch…

    HP Rivers

  • On Alcohol, Awakening, and Rising

    On Alcohol, Awakening, and Rising Helen Rose March 24, 2019 I will be two years sober this July. The last two years have been transformative in ways I never could have imagined, and the first gift of Divine love that I gave myself on this leg of my journey was recovery. Recovery allowed me to…

    HP Rivers

  • Knoxville

    My mother used to say My uncle left town After getting sober Because of the shame. It’s not that easy. It’s more like the discomfort of Standing next to a girl in Starbucks Knowing you know her And she knows you But, “Hey, Abby, Sorry I made you cry in tenth grade. I’m not an…

    HP Rivers

  • The Guardian Goddess

    “The Guardian Goddess became fatigued by this mission. Too many times had she been called upon to be the Soul’s eyes when they could not see the Light, protection when they could not find any for themselves, their whole being as they catapulted themselves dangerously and intentionally toward mortal danger…”

    HP Rivers

  • On Anxiety, Forgiveness, and Godde

    In every atom, every cell, and all the space between, there is nothing but Godde – and Godde is not what we’ve been told. Magic is not what we’ve been told. Godde is simply truth – and one piece of that truth that I’ve found for myself is that there is no perfection and there…

    HP Rivers