Where is the Light

My mood is black.  I’ve lost all hope.
I’ve sunk into despair.
The tentacles of gloom grip tight
I must escape.  But where

Am I to go?  I’ve lost desire
To live or love or laugh.
I feel no pleasure, just dull pain.
I see my epitaph,

Yet it is blank.  This endless gloom
From which I must escape
Yields no promise of afterlife.
I recognize no shape

Nor color, taste, passion, joy;
Just foul and acrid mood.
I cannot work, I cannot play
I lie in bed and brood.

Shall I end this worthless life?
Have I the motivation?
I guess I’ll just maintain this state
Of endless dissipation.

-12/7/99

Mark M. Rasenick, PhD

Professor, Physiology and Biophysics