There’s a weed grows wild in my garden,
I kill it but it still survives,
No poison or potion imagined
Can quell it, it lives though frequently dies.
It buries beneath to find nurture,
It spreads out, could take over the land,
But I prune it with shears every morning
Or else it would get out of hand.
It’s a bugger that haunted my growing,
Taunted whenever it could,
I bought all the pellets, I cropped it,
I did what I was told that I should
To stifle its errant persuasion
For no one can live while it feeds,
It sucks all the flavour from living,
It thrives as can only a weed.
I looked again, freshly, one morning,
I hated its sight in my eyes,
Recognised world and its worries
And my nature combined fuelled its lies.
I wept at the weed, strong despite me,
Forgave it its nature and face
But begged for the chance to grow flowers
In most of the wide-open space.
I became gardener to flowers,
To roses and riots of blooms,
I decreed weed was unwelcome,
I accept it but it gives me some room
To be all the me that I can be
For inside of the weed there’s a charm,
Understanding its nature, accepted,
I refused to be controlled or be harmed
By the power of depression that fixes
Into crevices, people and place,
I chose to be happy, I still do,
In spite of the weeds that I face.
Its not all a garden of roses,
It’s not all a wasteland of weeds,
I plant what I can, where I can,
How I can, and hope is the best of my seeds.
Now I see gardens where both grow,
Possession is nine-tenths the law,
I pluck them, I fuck all the stranglers,
Rose-tinted with a hopeful hacksaw.
I recognise that there are many types of depression and that not all can be addressed by a shift in perception. For me, it worked. It was either that or live on anti-depressants. The world depressed me and is still capable of doing so. I choose not to let it as best as I can. With hope and fight. And every tool at my disposal – sharpened.
Go momus! I used to use that deadly (I won’t mention the brand name) poison to kill all my weeds. I got them, but I have a lot of trouble with the extra eye that I have now growing out of my armpit 😀
It’s a wild old journey we have down here momus, but you have found a beautiful outlet that in itself must give you times of great peace 🙂 Just keep on writing my friend, it soothes the soul. Mark
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And when it doesn’t there are other outlets. I’m not fond of gardening though! Much prefer sitting in it and sunbathing when the sun shines. Cheers, Mark. 🙂
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You speak words of wisdom that resonates with others. Thank you.
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It’s a far-reaching weed, Pam. But I’ve found there are plenty other plants to keep it in its boundaries.x
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I really liked this one and the metaphor was spot on. Should the title be Pleck and Feck?
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The metaphor is excellent, Anne-Marie, and you have extended it skillfully. I do agree with you, depression comes in various guises, but, like yourself, I find that working on different perspectives helps – and it helps to keep at least part of the weed in sight. Take care. Chris.
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I once went out with a guy – Egyptian he was – who said he could never be truly happy or truly sad because there was always something in the world that counter-balanced one or the other. I didn’t understand it then. I do now. It’s only taken me years. But it’s now worked for years. So, there’s something in perspective. Have a great inset day, Chris! Keep it in perspective, I know how they can be. 🙂
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Coffee break! I really like what you’ve put hear. It makes perfect sense really, and I do think that we, as a society, need to challenge the concept that we can be ‘happy’ all of the time, and that happiness and sadness are two distinct camps. Round two in twenty minutes -‘Rights Respecting Schools’. Hmm. Do teachers have Rights too, I wonder?
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Nah, Phil, Feck’s good for the Irish in me but Doc Martens, a hard hat and Glaswegian-accented Fuckit! work best for some things. 🙂
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Lovely poem, A-M! Never thought I’d call something titled with the F-bomb lovely, but well, it’s lovely 😉 I really like it.
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Thanks, JGi. The F-bomb has its place in my life. Either that or I’d have fewer plates. 😉
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Fabulous analogy, Anne-Marie, and a great poem – really enjoyed reading it! So damn true too! xxx
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much whistling and applauding here
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Thank you, Paul. You’ll have to imagine me taking a bow and then collapsing as another workaday ends. Have a great weekend. 🙂
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