THE DARKNESS

A HALF-DECENT POEM ABOUT DEPRESSION. THAT RHYMES.
 
A darkness she saw, 
In the people she loved, 
A darkness that roared and rippled. 
She saw it in Grandpa, 
Who didn’t like Grandma, 
Who made sure their son’s heart it crippled. 
 
And the darkness she saw, 
Had grown and grown, 
And plagued the boy, body and soul
When he got to a stage,
Where he felt love and rage,
He knew it was taking a toll. 
 
So, the darkness was locked up, 
And the keys thrown away, 
His young heart still beating and alive. 
But, the darkness tried ways,
To show its ugly face,
It had to get out to survive. 
 
But, darkness is fickle, 
It waits and waits,
Making you feel like it’s gone…. poof!
You can smile through it all, 
Think you’re having a ball,
All you are is just sad and aloof. 
 
The boy grew older,
Went to college, went to work,
Unaware of the secrets he hid.
The darkness lay dormant,
No trouble, no torment,
And so, came a wife and two kids. 
 
Just as with happiness, 
That doesn’t last long, 
The darkness – it finally took flight! 
It made the man angry,
It made him very sad.
Sleepless days and sleepless nights. 
 
The games darkness plays, 
It simmers, it slays,
It devoured a full grown man whole. 
Unsmiling and worn,
In his room all alone,
A war and weather-beaten soul. 
 
She watched him and watched him,
As he lay in his coffin,
The darkness trapped with him in death.
But, with his last sigh,
As she’d kissed him goodbye,
It latched onto her – body and breath. 
 
And, the sleeplessness continues…


 

Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash.