Ping Pong
This is an impromptu workday collaboration between myself and MeeJong. I started and we alternated stanzas with her finishing:
There’s no way to win depression ping pong
unless we both find a way
to stop playing
We could steal each other’s paddle
But then what happens when we are up the creek
Maybe we can paddle together,
Two lunatics rowing against the current,
Swimming against the tide,
Burning flames beneath the rain
Taking turns carrying the brunt of the pain
And evening the weight across our load bearing psyches
Or we could just find a new game
Like happiness tennis
And launch balls of happiness at each other
Trying not to watch them sail by
Knocking yellow smiley faces back and forth
Or clown balls full of laughter
With big red noses
And bushy psychedelic rainbow hair
Trick squirt roses spraying sunshine instead of water
And hand buzzers that jolt you with joy
Sending waves of ecstasy through your body
And putting one of those smiles on your face:
The kind that extends out past your cheeks
And reaches out to those around you
The kind that lightens your eyes
Your soul
Your heart
And brings dreams to light,
evaporates sorrows
like dewdrops on a hot day
and brings life,
glorious glowing life
Refilling our cups with light instead of dark
Regenerating that lost creative spark