Gate or Gates Poetry Contest, Sponsor - Constance La France. Date written: 07/07/2025
so harrowing, life journey from radiant light to pitch-darkness - quote by poet. a (groaning) dread nobody deserves to muddle through, day after day; the loss of a spouse via suicide. postpartum depression is a drag; it claims the wife of a (grief-stricken) widower who's suddenly left to care for a newborn. he struggles to make sense of a tragedy he never anticipated; t r a p p e d in the (godforsaken) no man's land of confusion and guilt. just a fistful of months ago, the couple floated on seventh heaven, clutching on to the (gossamer) wings of happiness as they celebrated the birth of their child. mercilessly c r u e l reversals of fortune can sometimes be!... each visit to his wife's (grave), he asks a myriad of whys... "baby, why leave me and your son?" "why couldn't you hold on?" "why did I fail to save you?" "dear lord, why me? why let this happen?" with the rusty gate of grief closed behind him, he wanders through life's (ghostly), barren landscape, perennially asking himself... "what could I have done?" no rain can ever wash out the pain in his eyes.
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