Struggle

I spend each day

Trying to hold them at bay

Unwanted voices,

Chorus of despair,

Intonations of doubt,

Arias about abandonment.

They suggest a way out,

A way to leave all these

Painful trappings behind.

I deny them once more,

I cannot surrender,

Though the darkness may be

Omnipresent.

Focusing on my plight,

Is this my crucible?

Will I emerge on the other side

Enhanced alloy,

Or slag and soot?

For now all I know is

I will not surrender,

Another day beckons.

Author’s Note: This is a merging of two incomplete thoughts, one rather downtrodden and another more optimistic, both dealing with depression and the difficulties of overcoming it. It’s certainly quite a battle. These fragments suddenly felt as though they were two pieces from the same puzzle, so combining them felt quite cathartic indeed.