2319
About the Poet
Mary O’Connell was a member
of SGI, a Buddhist-based group,
for close to 20 years. Her life
was saved when she happened
to find ICSA (then AFF) online.
Subsequently, she met Lorna
Goldberg, LCSW, PsyA, and past
president of ICSA, who has helped her recover,
imagine a new life, and create that new life. n
The Survivor’s Spring
(dedicated to those born or raised in cults)
The survivor’s spring is seasonless
It has no bounds
Knows no beginning nor end
The survivor’s spring is without season
It stands outside the constraints of time
The survivor’s joy is limitless
Bottomless like the sea
Like the banyan tree
Capable of rooting in earth
In water
Even in air
Of the survivor’s courage
We cannot speak
We cannot comprehend
We stand in awe
We bow our heads
We cannot speak nor write nor paint
The survivor’s beauty, beloved of the Earth
People coming upon survivors
In their newborn, beautiful humanity
Stand stunned
Exclaiming over and over again:
Che bello Che bello Che bellissimo!
VOLUME 9 |ISSUE 3 |2018
About the Poet
Mary O’Connell was a member
of SGI, a Buddhist-based group,
for close to 20 years. Her life
was saved when she happened
to find ICSA (then AFF) online.
Subsequently, she met Lorna
Goldberg, LCSW, PsyA, and past
president of ICSA, who has helped her recover,
imagine a new life, and create that new life. n
The Survivor’s Spring
(dedicated to those born or raised in cults)
The survivor’s spring is seasonless
It has no bounds
Knows no beginning nor end
The survivor’s spring is without season
It stands outside the constraints of time
The survivor’s joy is limitless
Bottomless like the sea
Like the banyan tree
Capable of rooting in earth
In water
Even in air
Of the survivor’s courage
We cannot speak
We cannot comprehend
We stand in awe
We bow our heads
We cannot speak nor write nor paint
The survivor’s beauty, beloved of the Earth
People coming upon survivors
In their newborn, beautiful humanity
Stand stunned
Exclaiming over and over again:
Che bello Che bello Che bellissimo!
VOLUME 9 |ISSUE 3 |2018
