Heartbroken

The gentle giant Towered above his friends Six foot four, mammoth His size lost on the truth Of his kindness He was mild and tender Like the elephant His spirit whispered Instead of screaming He was mellow Like serenity, soothing Michael, named for an angel He was wise and strong Laughing instead of crying When the truth was He could feel the tears He was bleeding grief That left him weak and forlorn Poignant thoughts plagued him Never allowing him to know The peace that flowed freely Inside the rest of our souls The gentle giant Lost in a raging war With the bottle The one who owned his hope And colored his thoughts In black cold dread Darkness that stormed Inside of his head Leaving him lonely and sad Like the living dead There would be years of fighting His head and heart were at war With his need for a taste of the dark Collected in his thoughts, his heart Where there would be self-destruct Claiming his joy and happiness Feeding the flames of ungratefulness Darkening the way toward grace Where he could have found his way The gentle giant knew grief Like a friend it flowed through his veins Leaving him lost in his need For a drink that calmed his misery Left him feeling some better Until the end when it left him Without the ability to breath Death came without even a promise For relief from the putrid darkness That colored his world in dread That promised to live inside his head Until the end when he left us Wishing we’d known the cure for him The one who fell under the spell Of 80 proof respite from the soul Who knew sorrows beyond reason Regrets that would leave him Behind bars created by the prison Built on a superficial feeling It was only when I saw him in his coffin That I knew he’d finally found freedom From the darkness that only the drinking Had helped to dispel his manic-depression Heartbroken, I fall to my knees As I see that freedom sometimes means Leaving behind those who believe In your heart, your spirit, your soul The you who they know is made up of love H Contest Sponsored by: Constance La France September 5, 2021