Until You've Suffered With It Poem by Mark. A Heathcote

When you have depression, abstinence
Comes from not speaking, not eating,
Not caring, but plenty of hard drinking
When you have depression, temperance
Is 'lonely' a fictitious word out of verse?
No longer coupled with the meaning of this world
Sobriety - isn't it just an oceanic bird?
Not yet drowned, but in self-denial
Has it been flying without a safety net way too long?
Indulgence is a self-inflicted rushing tidal wave.
Through the dense, thick fog, ere long.
No, it can't ever be confused with love.
When you have depression, there's no love-
Can keep you safe above the waves that choke until
You've suffered with it; depression is no joke.