an abecedarian
by Susan Vespoli
 |
| Photo source: DeMilked |
Holiday depression feels a lot like regular depression, but it’s triggered by the onset of holidays, holiday get-togethers, large family gatherings, and attending or hosting social events. Holiday depression is similar to “winter blues,” but it may come and go in quick bursts as one event ends and another begins, or it can linger for the days or weeks leading up to and beyond the holiday season. —Cleveland Clinic, December 13, 2023
all the shiny
baubles and brouhaha of
Christmas. Seasonal
depression. Air-filled
enormous plastic Santas bobbing
front yards. Fairy lights
glittering rooftops. Guy in tight
holiday pants, knit like a sweater,
in Safeway.
Jubilant crimson poinsettias. My daughter
Kate hospitalized again. Oh,
let it work this time, I hear
myself beseech the sky.
“No,” the
omnipotent ozone replies,
“power.” Oh yeah. Powerlessness.
Quiet morning sun
rises, turns navy gray into orange
sherbet. I
tilt my head back and there
undulates a
vibration of grackles
waving and wafting like winged
eXclamation points, black dots
yodeling squawks, pepper grinder of
zest that, in unison, settle on an electrical wire like musical notes.
Susan Vespoli writes from Phoenix, AZ and believes in the power of writing to stay sane. Her work has been published in The New Verse News, Anti-Heroin Chic, ONE ART, Gyroscope Review, Rattle, and other cool spots.
