We buried our despair in the shade of the pine tree,
holding hands as we turned our backs
on those needling thoughts left in the dark.
The hulking ogre took root, waiting
to spring on us when we tried to take cover
beneath the canopy of stars
stretched too tightly that cool night.
A possum or some other unanticipated visitor
disturbed the tranquility, clawing at the dirt
until the ogre — always lurking as we
were distracted by routine — jumped out
to terrorize us once more
while we scrambled for a shovel
or another plot of land.
© 2020 Phillip Knight Scott
Written for the dVerse Tuesday Poetics in which we’re exploring the Gothic. “Which according to you are the deepest, darkest and most concealed of human emotions?”
Often Mumbled Musings 
Despair is a tough one. I’m glad you have a digging partner to keep reburying it.
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Very true!
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Despair is the most draining of all emotions isn’t it? I love how poignantly you have portrayed it here, Philip. Thank you so much for writing to the prompt 💝💝
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Thanks so much 🙂
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Nice metaphor. Reminds me of Blake’s ‘A Poison Tree.’ Hopefully the ogre of despair does not poison the land in this case.
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Thanks! I hadn’t thought of Blake, but you’re right. It was probably deep in my mind somewhere
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This is the perfect year to “bury despair”. A well-penned poem.
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This is all the things I hope poetry to be…but rarely is. Brilliant.
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I don’t even know what to say to that. So thank you!
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🙂
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Despair must be, dealt with, like, all of our, other, negative, emotions, otherwise, they will all, keep on, surfacing up, and, ruin our, lives…
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Despair is indeed an ogre, Phillip, but it cannot be buried – it will always find a way out. I love the image of ‘the canopy of stars / stretched too tightly that cool night’.
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Thanks so much 🙂
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I wonder if despair can ever be buried… isn’t the knowledge of the ogre enough for us to be black.
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