It crushes him and breaks him,
to the soil under his feet.
The Specter and the haunting,
that no one clearly sees.
It lacerates his rib cage,
and it takes his will to live.
It rapes his spirit of resiliency,
it crushes his limbs and hips.
It hobbles him and leaves him,
a catatonic shell.
He screams under the water,
in a drowning, tannic hell.
Hopelessness enshrouds him,
he cannot get away.
No strength to fight, or rise, or move,
this is his every day.
Thoughts on “Depression’s Gall”
Aside from the sculpture, Laocoön, The Dying Gaul is one of my favorites.
You can see the pain the warrior is enduring. You see the piercing in the warrior’s liver, possibly a coup de grâce?
You see the struggles of battle and the broken sword by his right hand.
You.
Feel.
His.
Pain.
I wanted to incorporate those feelings and emotions in my poem…
- How do I feel and those surviving through depression feel?
- What is the suffering like?
- What characterizes it for us?
Depression doesn’t care about its victims.
It chooses aimlessly and can strike at any time.
It is bold and impudent.
It. Has. Gall.
shethirvesinlife
07/14/2015 at 20:08
You have captured the essence of depression perfectly. It’s not a respecter of age, gender, or circumstance. It can be like a weighted cape that we’re constantly trying to shrug off. Thank you for your efforts to create beauty out of ugliness — it’s an important work!
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Surviving the Specter
07/14/2015 at 20:12
Thank you so much for your kind comments, Kim. Sometimes it’s a hard road, sometimes it’s bearable. Trying to make the most out of it while being hopeful and spreading hope to others through the rough stuff. X
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shethirvesinlife
07/14/2015 at 20:21
You’re welcome. I can sympathize with you; chronic illness and depression are wicked bedfellows. Yet, when your will to live is present and thriving, your desire to help others not suffer in the same way you have gives you purpose, or at least that has been my experience and the reason I started a blog.
These situations beg to be shared because the creation of awareness is necessary. Your work is helping that cause along brilliantly! 🙂
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Surviving the Specter
07/14/2015 at 20:29
“…your desire to help others not suffer in the same way you have gives you purpose…” – How very well and wisely spoken! Thank you, my friend. X
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morgueticiaatoms
07/13/2015 at 19:12
“Depression lies so well you believe it as truth…But believe not a word it whispers without an offer of proof.”
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Surviving the Specter
07/13/2015 at 20:29
So true, N’. So true. Thank you X
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