Poetry Day - It's dark in here

Well, since I didn't post a poem over the weekend, here is a simple little piece of honesty from Bruce Smith. Truth is, I'm not sure what to make of this one as poetry and it's unlike much of the rest of his writing. It's the sort of thing one might scratch out in some bleak moment and call catharsis or therapy, and it's quite plain and prose-like. Still, he's a brave man for publishing it.

It’s Dark in Here

Oh hell,

it’s dark in here!

I’ve fled here

to escape -

to escape the day,

to escape the family,

to escape the pressure

of people

and responsibilities.

I’m angry,

angry in my solitude,

angry with everybody

and everything,

angry with myself as well

for fleeing

to this rotten cell.

In this place

the past is as hurtful

as the present,

it comes surging back

with its recollections

of betrayals

and failures

beyond reckoning.

All the old scars

throb again.

O God,

it’s dark in here,

unbearably dark!

I cannot stay.

Strong, loving God,

restore me I pray

to a better mind

and help me find

lasting peace.

Bruce Smith

Picture from here.