For someone to be depressed?
Does there have to be tears streaming down their face,
Tears that are always concealed from view?
In the shower,
In their bed,
In the bathroom stalls of their school?
Does there have to be cries that are never heard,
Cries that beg for it all to stop and can no longer be held back?
Cries of suffering,
Of exhaustion,
Of surrender to the burdens that are always dragging them down?
Do they have to be stooped over,
Their head always drooping and their back always bent?
Trying to hide,
To go unseen,
To be ignored by and ignore everything that passes them by?
Do their eyes have to be vacant,
On the rare occasion that they look up to meet yours?
To be unfocused,
Emotionless,
Void of anything that could mean they are still there with you?
Do they have to be in great pain,
Pain that can never be remedied by anyone?
Excruciating,
Dilapidating,
Relentless pain that is always there within them?
Do they have to have battle scars,
Drawn out on their canvas of what once was smooth skin?
Sickening,
Revolting,
Permanent scars that will always tell the story of their endless war?
What does it mean,
For someone to be depressed?
What does it mean,
To you,
And to those around you?
Despite its morbidity, I love the fact that your poem doesn't seek to answer itself. My hope is that with the increased awareness of mental illness, appropriate treatments can be designed and advocated for, because its not a weakness or something someone can control. --Mr. Johnson
ReplyDeleteYou, again, touch upon a topic that most people fear. I hope that writing about this helps others understand. ~Mrs. Kopp
ReplyDelete