Sunshine Filled Yellow Rays: An Inspirational Poem

I miss my friend. She is not dead but it is like she is, she has an illness that has taken her away. She is here but not really here. She has an illness that we as a society refuse to acknowledge and that we stigmatize and refuse to treat in the manner that we treat other illnesses. You see my friend has a mental illness, or should I say a mental disorder. She suffers from clinical depression, a condition which afflicts millions of people worldwide, yet remains one of the least treated illnesses partly due to our denial as a society and the manner in which we stigmatize it. Thus, making those who suffer from it less inclined to accept that they have it and seek help. “I am fine,” they say, as they disappear for days on end lost in a cloud of sadness which even they don’t understand. “I am fine,” they say, as they medicate themselves by drowning their pain in wells of alcohol or drugs to numb their pain. “They are fine just slightly off balance,” we say, as they miss yet another day of work. But the truth of the matter is that they are not fine. No my friend is not fine at all she is just one of the many people who suffers from clinical depression. At this juncture I hear you laugh it off and say, “Oh please clinical depression is not an illness who does not suffer from the blues sometimes.” Well that’s exactly the point my friend suffers from the blues “all of the time,” to the point that she can barely function. If you have ever had a friend or loved one who has clinical depression then you will realize there is a difference and it is not just the blues. Perhaps, some of you reading this hub are like me, you know enough about mental illness and clinical depression, you know about the suffering of the mentally ill and their caregivers, and yet all your knowledge cannot bring them healing so you feel useless and helpless. However, at the very least talking about depression and other mental disorders can help break down some of the barriers society imposes on the mentally ill. I dedicate this inspirational poem, Sunshine Filled Yellow Rays to my friend and to all of those who are battling depression. For my dear friend I want her to know I love her, I miss her and I wish she would get help and start living again. For the rest of us let us help break down the walls of stigma that surround conditions like mental illness and HIV/AIDS. Let us begin to acknowledge that mental illness is an illness like any other and that it is extremely difficult for those who are ill and their caregivers to handle. So let us not make it worse for them with our prejudices and ignorant biases and where possible let us lend support and help others as they struggle with mental illness and all of its associated difficulties.

(An Inspirational Poem for My Friend)

I wish I could paint your blues away

with sunshine filled yellow rays.

I wish I could create a rainbow

to brightly glow through your teary rain.

I wish I could bring back your radiant smile

that lit up your face like sunny skies.

I wish I could reach deep within your mind

and chase away the pain that’s killing you inside.

If I could you know I would take it all away

and replace your gray clouds with sun-filled rays.

But I have no magic wand to cast your pain away

just a hand to hold as you struggle through the day.

So when everything seems cloudy and gray

Know that I am here for you to paint your blues away

With sunshine filled yellow rays.

- Inspirational poetry by Injete Chesoni