National Poetry Month 2020 Day 24: “Crying” & “Sulky Little Pit”

My favorite poetry often celebrates life and love, and reminds me of all the best things existence has to offer.
However, sometimes that celebration means wallowing in the difficulty, struggle, and pain as well. For me,
it’s endeavoring to revel in whatever state I’m currently in, to really feel it and move through it, aware that
change is coming. 

I am a big believer in a nice, hard cry from time to time. It can’t be healthy to hold in emotion, but we can’t
always just express them freely anytime, so I find it’s best to vent at appropriate times and have a lot of outlets.
After the rain comes sun, and feeling down sometimes is a natural part of life!

Crying

by Galway Kinnell

Crying only a little bit

Is no use. You must cry

Until your pillow is soaked!

Then you can get up and laugh.

Then you can jump in the shower

And splash-splash-splash!

Then you can throw open your window

And, “Ha ha! Ha ha!”

And if people say, “Hey,

What’s going on up there?”

“Ha ha!” sing back, “Happiness

Was hiding in the last tear!

I wept it! Ha ha!”

Reading the Bible this year, I see some similarities in this prose poem of mine from 2000 and the Psalmist’s pleas
(a lot of my emo poetry of the time has that flavor). Asking why? Why? Decrying my weak state. The next stage would
be to ask for support,to get past asking why to instead taking action about what, but I wasn’t quite in that place at the
time of that writing. I was stuck in a self-loathing moment and just needed to wallow. 

Sulky Little Pit

by Blythe Stephens

Why do I feel so depressed right now?

Fear of the past?

Dread of the future?

The girl born with the silver spoon in her mouth

Sulks and pouts.

She retains the self-centredness of her childhood

While weakly aspiring to greater compassion

And care for others.

Weakly.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons I am so proud of my veganism?

It’s the only real step I have taken.

Flaky, flighty, shallow.

I sink deeper in my little pit.