Ngoc Nguyen Poet Free verse

Melancholy and Joy

I.

Melancholy and joy, like oil and water,
do not combine (like water in a bath 
of acid). The twain never do 
meet in a single psyche, 
a single soul, 
a single 
mind, 


		II.

or in a single life like mine. And often
in between are vast tracts of gray,
of feeling from day to day
so numbed from my
daily sacrifice of
seeing my 
life 


		III.

slip away from me like water out of
my hands, like life-giving blood
leaving my capillaries 
and veins in sickle cell 
disarray even
on Sabbath
days.


		IV.

Melancholy and joy, this competing twin
(of heaven and hell), have no 
purgatory for me: I either
ascend into bliss; or 
I descend into
a burning
ashtray.

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Sotto Poet July 13, 2021 at 10:49 AM Insightful and greatly penned prose. Enjoyed reading Ngoc Nguyen July 13, 2021 at 11:17 AM Thank you so much, Lasaad, for the compliment (on my poem)! I really appreciate it. ~Ngoc