We Are More
Another response to reading a very good post on depression from Inside the Life of Moi yesterday. There may be times we feel unwell, having a bad day, or, are beset by maladies or pathologies. But we are more than our symptoms or our passing circumstances.
We Are More
(i)
He sits on the kerbside
With a cardboard sign,
“Please help,” inscribed
on its pulpy surface,
and, in the lines around
his eyes, and in them too,
darting side to side,
“Need more money”,
continued the message.
For while he medicated
His ‘voices’
With cheap plonk,
A desperate user took
His last dollars.
His schizophrenia controls
His happiness and habits,
Yet
We are more
Than the pathologies
That pin us.
(ii)
She shares half her sandwich
With him,
Then hears
TOOT!
An idling car awaits,
In readiness to take
Her where
She will ‘work’
This night.
Later she breathes in,
As the barby point
Of the syringe
Also enters in.
Morning sees
The ambulance there
To take her away.
“Another overdose”,
we overhear
someone say.
Yet
We are more
Than some
Of our habits.
(iii)
He takes his “Please help” sign,
Turns it round,
And with
A texta he found,
Begins
To sketch,
Feebly at first,
Then
With gusto,
A portrait
Of her,
That Toulouse-Lautrec
Would be proud of.
Yes
We are more
Than the symptoms seem.
Simon C.J. Falk 13/14 July 2016
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Wow. What a powerful message that has been so beautifully poured into words. I would say that I am flattered that my writing inspired this piece…but ‘flattered’ is probably the wrong word. I’m sorry you can relate …depression is a terrible thing – debilitating and exhausting.
Thanks Amanda. Yes. Occasionally, stories like this one, come upon us as if from somewhere. I think it is influenced by a whole range of experiences I’ve had. But one thing that kept coming to me is that those who are suffering, those who are unwell, are much more than the malady they experience.
Yes, we are all more….beautifully written.
Thank you. In recent days I’ve had more examples of how we are more. Perhaps another poem is emerging.
I look forward to it!
It’s my heartfelt wish that people would understand this about themselves. That they are more than the sum of their parts.
Yes. How we wish all people could see the wheat among their weeds.
We are more
Than some
Of our habits.
That’s so beautiful and filled with so much hope!
You are most kind, Damyanti. Both experiences of people on the street of our major cities and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s art partly inspired this poem.