Steve's " Best Cellar", (3-Minute Novel) .... A D D E N D U M ….[ What Really Happened; Depression Treatment; A Bit Long; Fiction ] Poem by Bri Edwards

In my poem 3-Minute Novel: "Steve's Best Cellar", Steve died.
A reader disliked the ‘sadness'.I'll correct that now, or know I've tried.

In his "best cellar", a "bullet blew a hole through Steve's brain".
That's how the first poem ended.Steve had been under strain.
His life's work, writing, was sagging.His wife left.He was ALONE.
To no therapist would he go.He basically was on his own.


Now hear this:I was only kidding; Steve was surely NOT dead.
Suicide has crossed his mind, but thoughts of death filled him with dread.
He'd been drinking [ and smoking dope ], but in kitchen, AND Tim was there,
Tim, his faithful dog, ...with its long, shining red hair.

Steve had fallen asleep, but he awoke when his glass [ BANG! ] hit the floor.
He'd a dream, a horrid dream to be sure, ….but nothing more!


But now the tide turned for Steve.He swallowed his pride, and called a "shrink".
And he took up his writing with renewed energy, with pen & ink.
[ OK!With his PC. ]
If he ‘needed' some booze, dope, or porn, he'd keep Tim at his side.
Tim would remind him of at least one thing he'd miss ….IF he died.


He had a visit with a top ‘head-doctor' near Hollywood.
He preferred avoiding publicity; he would if he could.
Dr. Haslitt greeted him warmly, then got right to the point:
"Why are you here, Mr. Martin? "Steve asked: "May I light a joint? "


NO joint (Cannabis cigarette)was smoked at his first visit.
[ The doctor offered coffee or tea. ]Mostly Steve did fidget.
They got an outline of Steve's problem after their first hour.
Steve still was not comfortable giving up what little "power" …..
he had.

Weekly visits were scheduled.Steve took his own Diet Coke,
and now and then "Doctor John" would let, Steve, a joint smoke.



After two months Dr. Haslitt announced a two-week vacation.
"My associate can see you, if you wish.She's a ‘psych-sensation'.
Steve was no mysogynist aka he did not object to women.
And hearing "sensation" set Steve's ‘lonely' mind to swimmin'.

"Swimming", that is, with thoughts of having a doctor ‘curvy'.
But Steve felt he could control his libido, and not be ‘nervy' **.


So Steve took Dr. June Allison's number, and called later that day.
His first visit was set for three weeks from then, scheduled by AI.
He'd already looked her up on Google.She WAS a "looker".
she was in a pantsuit, but Steve thought "she could pass as a hooker".

[ "Stop that! " Steve thought to himself, but for three whole weeks ….
Steve dreamed/dreamt of ‘June' in a halter top, with rosy cheeks. ]


Dr. June Allison: B.A. Wesleyan, M.S. Notre Dame, M.D. and Ph.D. Yale.
But would she make more progress than Haslitt?Only time would tell.
At first visit She offered Him a joint, legal in their state.
Steve hesitated at first, then accepted.For next visit, he ‘could not wait'.


[ Dr. Allison was married (three kids) , and made it VERY clear ….
that Steve was a ‘client'.From thoughts of ‘romance' he should steer clear. ]


He'd made an appointment with Haslitt also, but canceled it.He DID.
June made a list of areas for Steve to work on to, his loneliness, be rid.
Between visits he should contact at least two relatives or two friends.
He should reach out to his ex-wife ONCE and try to make amends.

"Try going to dinner with a colleague, joining a social group, perhaps a club.
Take walks in parks, write in a library sometimes, visit a local pub."


AND she said: "Be sure to email me each and every week.
Your email doesn't need to be long, covering topics of which we speak.
Don't ignore your writing, but open up your world; meet more people.
Perhaps try a religious service, under a minaret, tent, or a steeple."


Steve was inspired by Dr. Allison's suggestions.More outgoing he became.
At first he had trouble socializing.In fact, at it, he was quite ‘lame'.

But perseverance paid off in the end.He returned to Judaism.
On the YMCA handball courts he played with great enthusiasm.
There he met Richard.They partnered and both "out of the closet" came.
His career took an upswing.And his ex-wife and he absolved each other of blame.


(January 29th & February 5th...2019)


** nervy:1.
INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN
Bold or impudent.