Journey to Ixtlan

The poem “Shadow’s Taint” is a testament to the long-term impact of depression.


Shadow’s Taint

It’s the beginning of the end
though this would be a lie
the event has long crept aside
like a shadow that demands all

there is a charge to complete
contracts are drawn for the short-term
even as the commitments that last
are put aside along with the pain

in this effort the world contracts
no longer wide underneath my feet
as the width becomes my arms
pulled to my sides as I withdraw

silence is forced upon my ears
no longer hearing pleas of concern
when they’re imagined to be mute
until it’s too late to heed otherwise

these are choices I can make
a self-fulfilling prophecy
spawned from seeds that have no place
in the well soul of the happy heart

now the end comes closer still
by my efforts the doom will loom
until it consumes my very soul
forfeit to the shadow’s taint.

© 2018. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20180701.