There was a time of utmost grief,
A dalliance with disbelief,
Depression came as though a thief,
Alas, that time was long not brief…
Below the mouth that hides my teeth,
I bore my burden like a wreath
And there it dangled underneath,
The emblem of my sorrow…

Yet I persisted, day by day,
Knowing that it chose to stay,
Causing me to pause and pray,
Asking why God should delay…
Yet melancholy had its way,
Causing my wrecked soul to stray,
With that ****** wreath still on display,
The emblem of my sorrow…

Upon a quest I chose to go,
Perchance that then my strength would grow,
Perchance new hope would overflow,
To combat dark thoughts borne of woe…
And only then, God made me know,
The awesome debt to Christ I owe,
Till at His Cross I knelt below,
The emblem of my sorrow…

Denis Martindale April 2018.