Thoughtful Thursday: The Dark Pit

In the African American community, depression is often a whispered conversation. We are taught from a young age that despite how we feel that we fake it ’til we make it.

If it was that easy, there would be a lot more happy folks in the world.

Unfortunately depression is more common than people know. When Jesse Jackson Jr was admitted for treatment for depression, there was more talk about the illness, but not enough to make a change in the Black community.

Regardless of race, depression affects everyone.

My friend Charles, aka Wolfie, wrote a beautiful piece about depression. It is with pleasure I present my first Guest Poet:

Depression. deep.dark.ending.

My name’s not usher, but here is my confession,
i want to tell u a little about depression,
those times when u feel u need heart compressions
those times u can tell truths about lifes learned lessons,
those times when u want the weights of life lessened
when u feel u’ve been waiting too long for lifes blessin’s
for all the times u’ve alternatively turned lifes aggressions,
and walked away from drowning ur sorrows in blowing sessions,
when u wish u could have time to just breath for a few seconds,
but u cant because another blow to ur solar plexus beckons,
and there is nothing u can do but just take it.
today is another day that you are just so tired of lifes lies,
today is another day u struggle to maintain having dry eyes,
to give urself a headache with the oh me’s and the oh my’s
today is another day u simply refuse to realize,
that too many of these same feeling days just seem to fly by,
and u are still searching, groping, struggling to find out why,
u keep having sudden rushes of uncontrollable urges to just cry,
to give ur voice away this day as you scream up at the sky
and u stare down the sun like its god and u want ur retinas to fry,
but u even fail at that cuz u blink, ur eyes water and u just sigh
and there is nothing u can do but just take it.
and yeah u know all the stuff that people are gonna say,
that u just need to keep holding on and find a way,
to get thru this dark night cuz tomorrow brings a new day,
and soon all of ur sorrows and hurt will be washed away,
and although u may think so, the sky is not always gray,
that this is only a brief part of the charachter that u portray,
and that ur role will be a happier one at the conclusion of this play,
your tomorrow wil lbe a much brighter day than your today
you dont believe all that but u still try to just say hey,
hopefully they are right and it will all just go away.
but until then there is nothing u can do but just take it.
OR END IT!