Poetry and Lyrics on Depression

I have collected all of these onto one page so that the reader can read
the full range of despair as well as hope that my journeys through Depression have met.

Screaming at Deaf Ears
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 2008

How loud does a man have to scream for help
      until he's finally heard?
How many times does he have to tell his wife he hurts
      until she comforts him?
How many times does he have to cry for his bishop
     until he's finally believed?

The answer, my friends, will shock you.
In today's society a real Man has no problems
     and needs no help -
          even when he asks for it;
Doesn't everyone know that?!

The most courageous thing a man can do
     is to ask for help,
And the most brutal beating he takes
     from everyone around him
          is when he dares to crack open
               his superhero persona
      and dare to expose the fragile child with needs!

That's just not acceptable!" they all exclaim;
"You're not supposed to need help!
You're the one whose supposed to be helping me!
How dare you expect me to reciprocate!"
They glare at him with hate and contempt and continue:
"Get back in that persona and get back to work
Saving the universe!
How dare you need a hug!
How dare you need a helping hand."

And what they don't realize is that
In order to save the universe
He needs help saving himself.

No man is an island
     until he asks for help,
and then he finds out
     just how alone in the world
          a hurting man can be.

It is true that there is a very loving God
     who watches over all,
But there are times that we need a hug,
     a held hand;
          an arm around the shoulder -
These things God has commanded us to do for each other!
Loving your neighbor is,
     perhaps,
          the most neglected command of all,
     which is probably why it’s also the most-repeated.

No one hears the hurting man
until he finally speaks the language they understand:
     A gun to his forehead ...
          his car crashed into a wall ...
               a bottle full of pills ...
                     a long walk into a hot desert ...
And then they all confer with each other and ask:
"Did he ever talk to you? He never talked to me..."
      while all the echo of his unheard plea
      is sounding so loudly
      that they shouldn't even be able to hear each other.

Some professionals will tell you
that often a man takes his life
     to punish those
          who have been so very deaf -
I say that some men take such an action
     because it's the only way some people
          will finally hear him.

And then those left behind
     Suddenly find themselves
          Screaming at deaf ears.

Don’t Walk By
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 2001
Through my years of depression, I prayed for a Good Samaritan.
I am sure I am not the only one who has ever felt this way.
Nor will I be the last.
This was written while pondering the story of the Good Samaritan.

Stripped and then beaten; left nearly dead -
He’d fallen among thieves
Who’d taken his goods; taken his mule,
And left him in a ditch.
Two good men of God saw him and paused…
…Then kept on walking by.
If only the man could have spoken
The two men would have heard -

Chorus:
Don’t walk by –
Can’t you see how badly I need you?
Don’t walk by -
Can’t you see how I- am dying?
Don’t walk by -
Can’t you see you are my only hope?
Please - don’t walk by.

His spirit beaten; his hope gone,
His one wish - an early death.
Every neighbor knew the pain he bore,
And everyone agreed
He only needed some time alone…
…They’d never interfere.
If only the man would have spoken
The neighbors would have heard -

Chorus

His heart was beaten; was nearly dead
His teenage years were marred
With wrong decisions; lost innocence -
He knew that he was lost.
His tattered heart cried for help; for hope…
…But no one looked his way.
If only his heart had had a voice,
Those around him would have heard -

Chorus

Yes, there are wounded all around us
Crying out for our help -
But if we depend on just our ears
We will not hear their cries.
Listen with your heart; and you will hear
Words their voices won’t say
Listen with your heart and not your ears,
And then your heart will hear -

Chorus

Cerberus
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 1999
In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three-headed dog that guards the entrance into the Underworld, blocking the escape of those within. It seemed appropriate.

In the midst of one's personal Hades
Cerberus still stands guard
Letting no one pass by towards the light;
Blocking escape of all who dare -

Not even Chiron, the boatman,
Dead and senseless to all things physical,
Dares the wrath of the three-headed beast.

With the triple heads of
Abhorrence, Worthlessness, and Hopelessness
All are trapped eternally in a Hell
Which others cannot understand -
And from which they cannot help one escape.

Oh, for a Hercules
Like he who braved the monster once before -
Braced up by Mercury the Messenger
and Minerva the Wise
He took on the beast and carried it off.

But where is my Messenger?
Where is Wisdom enough
That I may gain Herculean strength
And free my way
From the Darkness into Light?

......

Down in the Darkness
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 1999
Suggested Tune: "St Cecilia (Sewall)"

Down in the darkness, I'm not afraid,
For Jesus, my Savior, has called me His own.
For He is with me; will not desert -
When others forsake me, He'll relieve my hurt

Chorus:
Even in darkness, there is a light -
The love of Jesus - it ever burns bright.
Jesus our Savior - He holds us tight
That we may embrace Him and live in His light.

When others scorn me 'till I'm ashamed,
I remember Jesus, whose love I have claimed.
When persecution become my lot -
I feel my Savior, whose love fails not

Chorus

Though tempests may rage, and storms may blow,
From His arms flow the peace others never know.
I'm never alone with my Savior, so dear;
I'm never alone, for my Savior is near.

Chorus

In the Eye of the Storm
text by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 2001
suggested tune: "Moody"

In the eye of the storm there is calm;
In the calm of the storm there is peace;
In the peace of the storm there is He
In Whose arms Peace and Calm will not cease.

Magic Mirrors
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 1997
This was a stunning realization that helped propel me out of a long spell of depression.

In fairy tales it is only the beasts
Who seem to carry magic mirrors,
And I've always wondered why -
Why does something so ugly
Have to always be looking at itself?

Then one day I realized that it's because
It needs to keep proving to itself
Just how ugly it is.

There is a beast inside each one of us
That carries its own magic mirrors
And with those mirrors it traps us
With what we think we see in them.

We see our inadequacies;
We see our fears;
We see all the distorted beliefs
The beasts in life want us to believe
About ourselves.
And for some reason we only feel safe
When we hide behind
Those fuzzy, indistinct reflections?
As if they would protect us.

It is our inadequacies
And fears
And distorted beliefs
That feed the evil magic
Of those mirrors.

I no longer believe
It is bad luck
To break mirrors.

Dreamers of the Day
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 1998
This is based on a saying attributed to T. E. Lawrence, better known as 'Lawrence of Arabia':

"All men dream, but not equally.
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds
wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
but dreamers of the day are dangerous men,
for they may act their dream with open eyes,
to make it possible."

Dreamers of the night build with all of their might
In the useless dreams of their sleep -
They build castles grand and dynasties to stand
Through the length and breath of their sleep.

With no tears to cry, in the blink of an eye,
Empires they do build in their sleep;
But then they awake and their dreams seem to break
As they wash from their eyes the sleep.

Dreamers of the day put their hands in the clay
And work it with all of their might -
Their muscles they strain; their bodies feel the pain
As they work with all of their might.

Children will be taught of oppositions fought
As they lived with all of their might -
The memories grand and the castles that stand
Are as tribute to all of their might!

How, then, do we dream? on our sleep do we lean
As we build on all of our hopes?
Is it all in vain, this fantasy domain,
When in sleep we live all our hopes?

All true dreams must last 'till the night is long past -
We must work will all of our strength;
Must climb our dream's slope, must not give up our hope -
We must live with all of our strength!

Summoning the Heroes
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 1998
written with the Olympic "Summoning of Heroes" procession in mind.

It is significant
That the Summoning of Heroes
Occurs before the Games begin -
For in this seemingly-insignificant gesture
We proclaim to the world
That all those
With courage enough to participate
Are Heroes.

Often the greatest heroes
Return home without metals.
Those who use the Games
As their reason to achieve
Or to overcome
Or to prove to no one but themselves -
These are the heroes I remember.

Occasionally a hero of mine
Stands on the victor's podium,
And I am proud of them.
But I am just as proud of my Heroes
Who stand on no podium
And whose heads are still
Held as high
As those who do.

Occasionally a hero of mine
Comes in last -
They have taught me that,
Often,
The most heroic thing
A person can do
Is to participate
Even when you know
You will come in last.

My heroes have taught me
The greatest lesson in living
That I have ever learned:
It is not your victories over others
Which make you a hero -
It is how willing you are
To participate in life,
Even when there is
No hope
For a metal
Or a victor's podium.

My heroes have taught me
That in the Closing Ceremonies of Life
What will be remembered
Is how your life
Inspired others
To become
Heroes.

Too Many Bad Guys To Fight
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 1992 and 2000.
This was written several years before the well-publicized death and 'surprise' resurrection of Superman in the mid-1990's. The last two verses were specifically written for a devotional address.

When did Superman finally die?
When did he stop his flying so high?
When Goodness and Right could not excite,
You and I became his kryptonite.
With all of his might he fought for the right;
There was just too many bad guys to fight.

Why's the Lone Ranger taken off his mask?
Why's he ride no longer, you may ask -
When we for the right no longer cheered
He just rode away as we laughed and jeered.
With all of his might he fought for the right;
There was just too many bad guys to fight.

And when did Zorro hang up his swords,
And stop fighting all the ugly hordes?
The dirt and the dust weren't worth it all
When we his people didn't care at all.
With all of his might he fought for the right;
There was just too many bad guys to fight.

When did Spiderman fall from his web
And allow the goodness of the world to ebb?
He finally shrugged, said "What's the use?
If they don't care, why take the abuse?"
With all of his might he fought for the right;
There was just too many bad guys to fight.

Now Wonder Woman's left us alone -
Where she has gone is still unknown.
I doubt we'll see her ever again
Until we become much better men.
With all of her might she fought for the right;
There was just too many bad guys to fight.

Did Batman finally clip his own wings
And from a building his body fling?
He gave his life on the end of a rope -
He found no soul who still had hope.
With all of his might he fought for the right;
There was just too many bad guys to fight.

The magic dragon once named Puff -
We all have treated him pretty rough!
Out of his own love, goodness he gave,
But we forced him back into his cave.
With all of their might they fought for the right;
We were just too many bad guys to fight.

There is a Hero we can't scare off
No matter how much we laugh and scoff
He'll stand beside us through thick and thin
Forever hoping our crown we'll win
With all of His might He fights for the right
And He's looking for allies to win that fight.

Seen or unseen, He stands with us
And acknowledging Him Is a must!
For with Him fighting on our side
Heaven we'll reach with Him as our Guide.
With all of our might let us fight for the right -
For He needs so many good guys - tonight!

Deep in the Lowly Garden’s Heart
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 2001
Common Metering 8-6-8-6 - Suggested Tune: "Cheshire"
There are times we do not want to forgive, but we cannot heal until we do.
The offender should still pay the penalty for what they did,
but meanwhile we have to forgive them.
I wrote this as a plea for help in forgiving others.

Deep in the lowly garden’s heart
Our Savior wept in pain
That we might all be forgiven
And peace of heart regain.

Not only for our sins did He
Pay such an awful price –
He took from us all our sorrows;
All burdens to excise.

Now in the gardens of our hearts
We seek His Spirit’s calm –
But know our hearts He cannot heal
Without Forgiving’s balm.

Father, help me to forgive all
Who'll ever cause me pain,
That hand-in-hand we may obtain
Unburdened hearts again.

Though Dreams Are Ravaged
Text by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 2005
Hallelujah Common Meter: 8-8-6-8-8-6
written in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
and to remind us where to turn in all great disasters in our life

Though dreams are ravaged by the gale,
And hopes are dashed, and all hearts fail -
Still, I will follow Thee.
Though Hell's own fury strikes the sea,
I know Thy Rock will shelter me!
And I will follow Thee.

Though shame and scorn are poured my way,
And loved ones all my trust betray -
Still, I will follow Thee.
Though shoulders slump - tired, bruised, and beat -
Still I will seek Thy mercy seat!
And I will follow Thee.

Though mortal helpers ne'er appear,
I know I'll feel Thee ever near -
Still, I will follow Thee.
Thine open arms, so strong but fair,
Will lead me from Fear and Despair!
And I will follow Thee.

Strollered Children
by Bruce T. Forbes; copyright 2002

I have discovered
That there are
Two types of children
In this world -

The first type of child
Is continually turning around
In their stroller,
Making sure their father is still there
Making sure He isn’t pulling off
Anything suspicious.

The second type of child
Continually faces forward
In their stroller -
Through the movement of the stroller
He knows his Father is there
And trusts his Father
To push him in the right direction.

I am trying very hard
To regain the faith
Of the child who is
Showing such childlike faith
In his Father…
And to simply
Enjoy the ride!