It’s called depression.

It’s latched on tight,

like a parasite thriving on all the happiness and hopefulness you once felt.

Like a tapeworm,

it’s stealing all your nourishment,

the things that normally keep you full and whole.

It’s undetectable,

except to the trained eye.

Can you feel it consuming you from the inside out?

Of course, some days are better than others,

but you can’t fight it for long.

Eventually, it always creeps back in.

You try to catch and hold onto all these good things

like you’re catching water in a colander.

You feel it just long enough to miss it when it slips away.

You try to get creative and cover as many holes as you can, but really it’s futile.

Given enough time and all the duct tape in the world,

everything you’ve captured will eventually seep out

until you’re left with nothing but

an empty bowl with too many holes.