When the world begins to crash
and crumble around you,
and despair begins to feel
like an old familiar coat
drawn around you;
A second skin,

When the prospect of a new day
for you holds no joy;
No cheerful anticipation;
And the passage of time
becomes of no significance:
Uselessly ebbing,

When you eventually sleep
and are chased by bitter dreams
with Morpheus' nocturnal monsters
making their playground
inside your tormented mind,
ceaselessy tormenting,

When the future seems bleak,
and you are helplessly drowning
in an ocean of depression,
with no lifeline imminent
to rescue you from the
discourage that entraps you,

When your very survival
is subject to question;
and the sheer beauty of life
is no longer in evidence,
to serve as a healing touch,
a balm for your battered soul,

When with each passing day
your life options seem to fade
like the granular contents
of an hourglass: slowly,
but ever constantly
trickling away,

When all else has failed
and there is no light apparent
where your world seems darkest
inconceivably becoming darker,
and the last vestiges of your faith
are slipping into oblivion,

Then, beloved soul, is when it's time
to tap in the wellspring of your being,
dig deeply within your soul,
see the light that there resides,
and let that light, the light
of love, stream throug your darkened heart.

Then, is when you must begin
to fan the flames of strength
which lie dormant within you,until
the fire becomes an inferno, and
like the Phoenix rising from the ashes,
learn again to live.