Where were you when my heart skipped a beat? I’m in the depths of despair. Did you stir the cauldron? My bitter heart lashes out at an unforgiving community…but not you. Who will send hope yet not ingratiate themselves upon my desperation. I’m boxed in at every turn. My world unravelling.

I call out for help. There is none to stay and fight beside me. I am alone. Like a bad marriage my memories are filled with trodden eggshells crushed. Touch me. Feel my heartbeat as I cling on through drowning waters. Feel my knotted soul as debt burdens my bank balance. Escape seems a final word.

Dezzie 2022

I worry for my friend. The stress overwhelms her. Two years trying to keep her business afloat. First it was the lockdowns where she needed to lay off her staff due to no customers. Now she has customers and cannot get staff. Her world falls apart and I watch it fall. She hangs on barely trying to save what’s left. Working long hours and no real staff. The angst of not knowing where to turn or what to do. Each encounter is groaning tears. If she could walk away without going bankrupt I am sure she would take the plunge but now is not the time.

free verse, mental health, poetry,