Some call depression
an ever-present cloud
Residing in the sky above
sad and dark and storm-ridden
Blocking the sun and
emptying its rain
so cold and wet

No
Suspended in the air
Clouds cannot touch you
They cannot reach out
after you have broken free
and claw you back
Talons of pain
digging into your gut while
the foul stench of its breath
seeps into your pores
eating away your inside

No
It is not a cloud
Clouds do not touch you
Clouds do not crush you
beneath a monstrous weight
threatening to break the legs
that keep you standing
******* the strength
out of every muscle
so you cannot move
let alone run
to escape

No
It is not a cloud
Clouds do not touch you
Clouds do not crush you
Clouds do not haunt you
They do not sink their fangs
into your exposed neck
Releasing a powerful venom
into your veins
invading your mind with
thoughts and images that
poison your soul
Chaining you to its world of
terror and darkness

No
It is not a cloud
Clouds do not touch you
Clouds do not crush you
Clouds do not haunt you
Clouds do not blind you
They do not spit in your eyes
a black tar that is
thick with despair and
dark with sorrow
Coating your sight with
a filth that blinds you
from beauty and
all that is good

No
It is not a cloud
It is a monster that preys
on the strong and weak alike
It is a monster that hides
in the shadows unnoticed
Slowly eating the light
until there is none left
It is a monster that leaves
you with little hope
of making it out
Alive