Wilting in the Dark

Every year you say to yourself,
This year will be different.
I won’t let the darkness get to me.
But this darkness is not metaphorical.
It’s very real and very physical.
It surrounds you, oppresses you,
And you can only hold out for so long.
Eventually, it gets inside you.
It suffocates your sanity,
And smothers your joy.
You feel yourself withering away,
Like a sun-starved plant,
Wilting in the dark.

Happy Holidays!

I see happy families taking Christmas pictures with Santa Claus at the mall…

I see happy families lighting candles at home…

I see happy moms preparing elaborate holiday meals…

I see smiling dads putting up Christmas decorations outside…

I see eager children waiting for presents…

I see the bottom of a glass of Scotch, alone in an empty house… But I’m not alone, I have loneliness, melancholy, and Cutty Sark to keep me company.  

CHRISTMAS INSIGHT

Every year,
I fight the cheer,
I play along,
But listen here;
It’s not that easy,
The yule thing,
All the joy,
And all the bling,
I do okay,
I coast along,
Good greetings here,
A Christmas song,
But underneath,
It’s just a play,
I promise to,
Ignore the day,
But every year,
It’s just the same,
Come Christmas day,
I shed the game,
No matter how,
I’ve fought and torn,
I awake on Christmas morn,
Overwhelmed,
By Christmas spirit,
No matter how,
I fight and fear it,
It overtakes me,
None discreetly,
As Dickens wrote,
I’m done completely,
I’m overcome,
And what is worst,
My heart expands,
So it might burst,
On the 26th,
It’s gone to sand,
But on the 25th,
My fellow man,
Can do no wrong,
Not a single one,
I’m opened wide,
My plans undone,
For on that day,
Christmas bells toll,
Some kind of magic,
Takes control,
No matter how I feel,
Throughout the year,
On this one day,
It all seems clear,
That Love profound,
Clear, unadorned,
Can change the world,
How it’s been formed
Yes on Christmas day,
I understand,
Our real strength,
When we can stand,
As one,
A single human race,
A collective will,
And take our place,
All colour, creed,
Religion gone,
Bound as one,
And moving on,
To our next phase,
Of evolution,
When we move from problem,
To solution,
But so powerful,
Is this clear insight,
It’s only there,
For Christmas night,
On that one day,
We stand embracing,
Then after wonder,
What we’re chasing,
A memory, a thought,
A “what could be”,
If only all,
Yes, you and me,
Could connect our hearts,
And feel the way,
That we all feel,
On Christmas day.