Borderlands

I read a journalist’s quotes Telling a new theory That depression is good for you - At least, good for the species. All that rumination - some scientist on the make reckons in his latest piece – Sets us free. Most remarkable of all: They are dogged, the depressed – he says, this scientist who I ain’t met. They crack through with new ideas. Well, nice theory, mate: But you never asked me. And if persistence is the same as being stuck, I guess you’ve got me. But depression gives me no evolutionary advantage for art. It does not serve this artist’s work. It has cursed me. Thirty years of wandering now - lost, not persisting - In the borderlands Where reason and his twin fight. Not knowing which is which for days at a time. Forgetting all the great plans Laid but a fortnight ago. Eternally disappointed. Ever distrustful of the latest thought. Each day of life needing More simplicity - A list of simple tasks – a run, good sleep, small sessions of writing. Yes, literature and creation Loom large to keep this life going. But without my pills Those creations would have sunk Under the weight of my own confusion.