Three Word Wednesday requires participants
to use the three words of the week in a composition.
The words this week were: breezy, hairy and monstrous.
I hadn’t planned to contribute this week but things changed.
When they are gone
On hearing that a friend’s son had suicided.
The black dog lives at their address,
Rabid, hairy, and teasing relentless—
They hope that it will disappear
When they are gone.
They teeter closer than they will admit
On the edge of some monstrous pit,
They hope the pain will just fade away
When they are gone.
A breezy front is oft’ displayed
When an exit plan’s been made
Seldom seen but, oh, so clear
When they are gone.
That awful day when they submit
Is far from being the end of it.
The black dog’s load is shared around
When they are gone.
.
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© J Cosmo Newbery 2014
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I'm so sorry for your friends' loss.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the black dog is contagious after one has decided to make himself gone.
The closer you are the bigger the chance of being infected. There is strength in numbers and hopefully family and close friends will provide support for each other.
I had to read it a few times to 'get it' but then I did.
ReplyDeleteWhat you wrote is so true, especially the last part.
Sorry to hear about the loss.
Heart hurting and so very true. I am so very sorry for them. And everyone who endures that pain.
ReplyDeleteIt can be a very black pit. A few years doing LifeLine taught me that.
ReplyDeletethe image is perfect.. the black dog can be seen as depression. can't image the pain of the parents.
ReplyDeleteI so hope that I never have to deal with that - from either side.
ReplyDeletethis is really deep and opens up the flood gates on so many levels. Interesting write.
ReplyDeleteAm praying for the people involved in the real-life tragedy. Your poem is a good tribute to it. The black dog image running through the poem worked for me as a symbol of the bleakness left behind in such situations. Very moving.
ReplyDeleteGrief is borne by the ones that are left not those that have gone and seemingly chosen to draw a line in their life's span. It is no easier when we have no choice but it is still our time.
ReplyDeleteto carry on normal life after this mishap seems an impossibility...the rabid black dog and the monstrous pit images are so powerful...sorry for your friend's loss...
ReplyDeleteThis poem moves me greatly. Two weeks ago a grandchild of a friend committed suicide, so I have been thinking about the tragedy of it all. The black dog image says so much in a subtle sort of way.
ReplyDeleteLife has to move on no matter what happens but memories always haunt.
ReplyDeletePeace
ReplyDeleteZQ
I like how you used the strong image of the black dog. It says so much in so few words. Suicide is hard for the people who stay behind and are left with pain and questions that will never have an answer.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad a painful loss with no real resolution only more questions.
ReplyDeleteIt is a tragedy no less. But when self imposed those left behind are at odds asking why? Lots of questions left unanswered! Great write Cosmo!
ReplyDeleteHank
Using the same line in each stanza really emphasizes the constancy of the black dog.....the way that depression fills every part of the lives of people it affects. Sobering write.
ReplyDeleteThis has given me chills, J. That black dog of depression is a haunting presence. Your use of repetition built to a strong and excellent conclusion.
ReplyDeleteYes, the parents are on the edge of the abyss right now, no choice. How horribly final is such an act, its repercussions haunting those left behind forever.
ReplyDeleteHow to help to see the perspective for those who decided on stopping their lives? very sad...sorry for the loss xx
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of carry that black dog inside.. and when they are gone, that dog has a dark tendency to move on.. so devastating when this happens.. and the way people manage to hide it until it's too late..
ReplyDeletethis is a very deep and thoughtful poem. the 'black dog' could be represented as so many things...loss, death, sadness, emptiness. i like that you leave it to the discretion of the reader.
ReplyDeletestacy lynn mar
http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/
Such a loss should be dealt with, with dignity. The pain of the loss comes through your poem very strongly.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I am puzzled about the "they" that will be gone. Are "they" the owners of the dog or neighbors of the owners of the dog? mysteriously dark piece. I relish this kind. :)
ReplyDeleteHonestly?
DeleteThank you Cosmo for responding to my sad news with this fine, hand-crafted poem, also to those of you who have commented here so thoughfully, so sensitively.
ReplyDeleteWinston Churchill knew the black dog well.
My dear son, when he was well, was a kind, thoughtful, loving and funny young man. His battle with his lifelong mental health issues completely overwhelmed him in the end. Suicide is not an easy choice. It requires a huge amount of courage, because we are "programmed" so strongly to survive.
I am fortunate to have a loving family, supportive friends (worldwide) and excellent professional counselling. Most of all I am privileged to have known Ian for 32 years, three decades mostly full of laughter and joy along with occasional episodes of his anguish. As I wrote in his eulogy, a shooting star burns briefly bright. He taught me to be a good dad to him and fostered in me a deep sense of empathy, understanding and patience towards others like him.
Grave grief...
ReplyDelete