Sabrina Benaim’s poem “Explaining My Depression to My Mother” begins like this:
“Explaining my depression to my mother: A conversation Mom, my depression is a shapeshifter
One day it’s as small as a firefly in the palm of a bear
The next it’s the bear
On those days I play dead until the bear leaves me alone
I call the bad days ‘the Dark Days’
Mom says, ‘try lighting candles’
But when I see a candle, I see the flesh of a church
The flicker of a flame
Sparks of a memory younger than noon
I am standing beside her open casket
It is the moment I learn every person I ever come to know will someday die …”
You can watch Sabrina recite her poem in this video:
You can read a full transcript of the poem here.
