Crawling through this
Dark place in my life.

Driven here by my longing
For the loving companion
I once had belief, now lost,
I would find in her.

As the darkness infuses all,
Working, writing, dinner with friends
Become unsettled by a
Gnawing sense of lack.

Passion snuffed out,
Life is only a shallow
Dark place,
Day and long night.

My mind appeals to my heart
With bright places remembered.
Intellectually I know this
Dark blanket of longing has edges,

Yet I keep it pulled over my head
In easy perverted justification
Of avoiding more pain
From falling down here again.

Until one day,
As swelling frustration
Becomes a surrogate
For strength,

I stand up and leave.