Even Nature Succeeds at Overcoming Depression.

Mid-Winter, bitter cold,

wood stove blazing 

and begging to hold

more logs that lay

knee deep in 

the snow that day.

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So I bundled up warm

and faced the storm

long enough to 

place an old sled

over a flower bed 

by my house.

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Then I moved several

pieces of timber

at a time, 

to the top of the sled

stacking them almost 

as high as my head,

and making it easier to fetch

the fuel to warm my bones

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Covered in a tarp 

they weathered the winter 

sheltered and dry

as the season passed by.

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Up until mid -April

when much to my dismay

on a warm spring day

I noted that there were

tulips and daffodils

in a lovely array

all along my house 

except near the sleigh.

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Like a rescue team

frantically working to

uncover an avalanche

I carefully removed 

each log and thick branch

and put them back

where they were before.

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Not truly knowing 

what was in store

beneath their 

oppressive weight

for those flowers 

that could not pollinate

and lay in wait

in the dark shadows

of long dead trees.

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Much to my delight

when the last 

log was cleared

and the sled set upright

there each flower appeared

in palest shades of green

bent like old 

men and women 

after a long 

inhospitable stay

in a dark 

depressing place.

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With only about six inches

of growing room

they stretched from 

their man-made tomb,

Malnourished tendrils 

of milky green

unlike anything 

I've ever seen

reached to the sky above 

through the 

slats of the sled

in nature's labor of love.

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Two days later

they began to bloom

freed from the gloom,

into some of the heartiest

tulips and daffodils

that ever burst forth.

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Bright yellows and greens

marking a peaceful scene

from what was a 

wooden sarcophagus.

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There is a 

lesson to learned

from this simple 

act of endurance.

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No matter how 

hard we've yearned 

to free ourselves 

of depression

under the weight of 

things over which 

we have no power.

If we persevere 

eventually a 

path will clear

and we can lift 

our weary heads

and let the sun 

bathe our face.

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Much like this

embattled flower bed,

We will begin to 

grow once more

back to a place 

that offers more

than just darkness 

and despair.

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Soon enough they 

will wither and die,

leaving offspring buried 

deep in the womb

of Mother Earth

but come next 

spring they will rise

in a glorious rebirth.

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If we can but 

simply maintain

our basic needs

when all the 

world around us

fails to heed

the sorrows we bear.

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Eventually chance 

or happenstance

will free our soul

from what has 

far too long 

taken control

and we will 

regain the colors

that we cherished so much

before the darkness 

overwhelmed

our imprisoned lives.

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Or we can stretch 

our weary arms

to someone who has 

experience in uncovering 

our flawed existence,

a caring physician

who will help 

lift off the weight

the wait that 

keeps us down.

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