“Oh Not So Great”: “Sadness”

We haven’t spoken in a while.
It’s the little things, you see,
I can’t cope with them. Can’t
ask for help. Can’t help myself,
or others.

If we talked it would be
about the small things: about
my grocery list, about all
the forgotten items on my
grocery list.

But really it would be about
sadness, my one subject.
I would help you by cutting it short.
And you would say goodbye,
thankfully.

It’s the one gift I could
give you. It’s the one gift
I do give you, every day
I don’t call. The one little
mercy.

“Sadness” is a poem incorporating key words and ideas raised during the Depression Project focus groups’ discussions on the theme of “Sadness.”