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The poems

© 2010-2013

iceberg

We don’t see the demons right away
The despair, cravings
Longing, anger
Self-loathing, insecurity
Terrible loneliness
Craziness and doubt
They are hidden
And our judgment is clouded
By love, by hope
They come to us
Like moths to the light
Sensing joy, empathy
Compassion, mercy
And weaknesses of our own
Chinks in our armor
That make us desperate ourselves
To mend their wounds
And when the mask comes off
We stay and struggle
Because you don’t leave behind
People you love
Even when they go crazy on you

Compassion has received a bad name
Codependent, enabler
We’re told to take tough love
And throw it at them like a rock
But sooner or later
Depending on our wiring
We have to return to the light
We can wait by the pit
We can comfort, cheerlead, love
But we can’t go in
It’s their hell
Sometimes they’ve closed themselves in
Sometimes it’s nothing they control
We watch from the edge
And pray and hope
This is a good thing
And not to be maligned

This is how we care for the Universe