Pessimism – Part 1

Posted on by Reena Saxena

the cat languishing
under the tree
arouses envy
the birds flying overhead
tweet calls for freedom
the sun sneers
threatening to withdraw
unappreciated, unutilised
generosity

it is no mean feat
to stay enveloped in darkness
blame the world for your plight
turn off all sources of light
wallow in self-pity
denigrate cheer
hold what’s dear
so tight
that they start
fighting for their right

it was not a sunny day
when you arrived
-gloom that got entrenched
in closed loops
struggles to find an outlet
and it takes nothing less
than a Hercules
to keep it all in

it is not larger than life
nor deeper than oceans
but you celebrate
expansiveness
of doom and naysay
beyond the mountains
that block your vision
-they are not fungible
but absorb all that you throw
only to return it to you

Poetics – Litotes of Yesterday

Pessimism – Part 2

27 thoughts on “Pessimism – Part 1”

  2. Wow, this is a powerful analysis of pessimism and mentally living under a dark cloud! For some it’s clinical depression, for others it’s habitual negativity. Good one, Reena!

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  8. This is expertly wrought, Reena! Wow! I especially resonate with; “it was not a sunny day when you arrived-gloom that got entrenched in closed loops struggles to find an outlet.”

    Thank you so much for writing to the prompt! 💝💝💝

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  9. Negativity, and dare I say depression, is so hard to shrug off and it seems that everyone and everything else is taunting you. But it is hard work, ‘no mean feat / to stay enveloped in darkness’ and it’s easier to smile than scowl. These lines spoke to me:
    ‘gloom that got entrenched
    in closed loops
    struggles to find an outlet
    and it takes nothing less
    than a Hercules
    to keep it all in’.

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