We have a kind of cerebral scarring
that can’t be seen on scans.
It changes our emotional landscape,
so we use a different map than everyone else
to navigate the geography of thought.
We rise and fall with the tides of the mind
and rest in those balanced moments
others seem to be able to live in.
Our view through peaks and valleys
alters the lens we use to focus ourselves.
We can use periods of tunnel vision
when past and future are absorbed by the present,
and break ourselves into a million pieces
and reflect on the moments that brought us there,
then choose which parts we want to pick up
to put ourselves back together again.
We are living, breathing optical illusions
that deviate from the social norms—
turning breakdowns into breakthroughs
by using the fractures in our minds to rebuild.
Renee Cronley is a writer from Manitoba. You can find her at www.reneecronley.com.
Questions and Answers
Is there a specific moment that inspired you to pursue poetry?
I can’t pinpoint a specific moment that inspired me to pursue poetry, but I was creating poems and stories in my mind since before I was writing them. In childhood, I was drawn to random phrases in books, lines in movies, or scenes and sounds that would inspire a poem or story to unfold in my psyche. A powerful emotion could do it, too. I was around eight years old when I wrote my first poem. I had a knack for arranging words, ideas, and emotions into poetry. I was a creative child, and my mother and grandmother were creative too, so I had those influences, along with the freedom to live inside my imagination. I think it was a combination of all those things that helped me develop my artistic instincts.
It felt natural to write poetry throughout my life—being a writer was an integral part of my identity. Also, I found that writing poems brought on by difficult emotions was a therapeutic process because I always felt better after purging them onto paper.
It felt satisfying and encouraging to see or hear that my poem had elicited the emotional response that I meant to evoke. It was like I was performing magic—creating something from nothing. Based on my love for writing poetry and the reactions I got from readers, I knew from a young age that I would pursue publishing my poetry.
How did your writing process unfold around this poem? How did you write, edit, and refine it?
The phrase ‘geography of thought’ sprang into my mind while I was thinking about the complexities and societal stigma of being neurodivergent. I thought, ‘geography’ and then the associated word ‘map’ and the poem started to flow around those lines. The poem that emerged had a conversational feel and was full of imagery to communicate a shift from abnormal patterns of thinking to unique ones.
I edited and refined this poem, the same way I do with all my poetry. After I finish writing a poem, I put it away for a day or two. I find time and distance allow me to look at my work with fresh eyes. When I return to a poem, I read it out loud and make adjustments as needed. Along with imagery, I love using sounds in my poetry, so if I don’t feel there is enough of them in the poem, I will look for synonyms for some words I used and swap them out to sprinkle some assonance and alliteration in to make the lines pop. When I am finished, I use my writing program’s text-to-speech function to catch any errors I might have missed, which is easy to do when I am too close to my work and sometimes read what’s in my head instead of what’s on my computer screen. So my text-to-speech function is invaluable to me. If I am satisfied and the poem feels complete, then I will submit it. If not, I will put the poem away and return to it later and go through the process again.