Are You Safe In Your Houses?

Just a matter of moments now,
the depression will come.
Camped out here on the precipice of pain,
we will wait now for the rain.
Growing darker, the winds of discontent
will be an ominous indicator
of how troublesome this storm can be...

...We're live, waiting on depression,
the result of unexpressed aggression.
Are you safe in your houses tonight?
The blackening sea swells below.
There's almost no sign of wildlife.
We'll try to pan our camera
so you can get a look for yourself...

...Depression is violent, unpredictable,
killing unsuspecting people yearly...
...Here to keep you informed of
the forthcoming peril that is depression...

...Make sure you are safely bunkered,
hide in the hollows of your heart,
hold on tightly to something,
a loved one, preferrably
with strong shoulders.
Perhaps, seek professional help,
someone to steer you to safe harbor...

...There's so much we yet don't understand,
no one indicator can give us a clue,
why the violent storms keep returning.
Are you safe in your houses tonight?
Here it comes. Can you get a good shot of this?
We'll attempt an interview,
maybe get a soundbite...  No?

...I'm live,
just another victim reporting.



"Maddy & Daddy - Camping"  [E]

Born and raised in Upper Michigan, Brian Keith Compton has lived with depression since high school, unable/unwilling to seek help or a diagnosis until 1997. The poem is an attempt to parody life as a journalist, the ignorance, and the struggle for understanding. He also doesn't normally speak in third person, but thought it would be a nice change...and can't pass up the opportunity to poke fun...even at his own expense.


AND....my new favorite review of this poem helps put this poem in its proper context:

"The journalistic approach worked for me, as more than mere satirical metaphor, but on the level of that hard-to-describe aesthetic distance one gets with the depression, as though viewing oneself from several paces away. There is an eery sense of 'Unself', I've found, which accompanies a bout of depression, and this captures it so vividly. I'm not sure if you did that deliberately, or if by accidental design, but it's perfect."