In So Many Words

storm clouds and broken glass

bleeding fingers and the chilling fog

empty like a tide elapsed

the gnawed abyss deep inside

storm clouds and chain-link fence

the caged voice screams

and in silent torment vents

hot tears streaming cleanse

storm clouds and loneliness

the patient freeze of isolation

anxiety's frisson with attendant stress

the long decline and no sensation

storm clouds and dark of night

the sleeper slowly wakes

and in a stupor stares in fright

at shadows weaving on the walls

storm clouds and bitter rain

the sense of failure's keening ring

the giving up and the trying again

the pervading numbness of everything

storm clouds and rays break through

the shadows and the piercing sun

the lasting struggle for my virtue

the moment passed the challenge won

storm clouds in a steel blue sky

roil and broil toward distant plains

depression in so many words

stills the body and numbs the brain

~e