Instead of Depression
try calling it hibernation.
Imagine the darkness is a cave
in which you will be nurtured
by doing absolutely nothing.
Hibernating animals don’t even dream.
It’s okay if you can’t imagine
Spring. Sleep through the alarm
of the world. Name your hopelessness
a quiet hollow, a place you go
to heal, a den you dug,
Sweetheart, instead
of a grave.
Andrea Gibson, 1975–2025
“Instead of Depression” from You Better Be Lightning
© 2021 Andrea Gibson
Iswanto Arif on Unsplash
