Nocturnal Depression

By Grace Hall

Today

I’ve fallen in love with the clouds

And the trees

And yellow

I smiled freely and laughed in the face of life’s little inconveniences

And became enamored with the notion that I am capable of such immense feeling.

But now it’s raining

And pouring

It’s four in the morning

And my poems are all starting to sound like cliche little nursery rhymes

Although I can’t seem to care

Because while the day seemed bright and full to the brim with endless possibilities

The limitations of my bedroom walls

Those towering shadows in the dark

Feel as though they’re crushing the air out of my lungs

Expelling all of the hope from the day

And leaving me empty

Not melancholic

Nor angry

Just bare

Devoid of the passion brought forth by the sunlight and people

Free to be filled with the thoughts I push away during the day

The children

I think

Are right to fear the dark

“Nocturnal Depression” won third place in our Fall 2020 Poetry Contest.