"A Book of Matches" is poetry about depression, and one way to deal with it.

A Book of Matches

A poem by Chrome Dome Mike Kimbro

Consider reading along to my Spoken Verse Performance!

VERSE 1

It seems to me,

The best simile,

Is that my life could be,

Just like a book of matches.

In good times when I go to bed,

It isn’t with a sense of dread,

Of the alarm clock’s ring, but instead,

I welcome the reveille.

The secret I learned early on:

Place the noisy timepiece upon,

The dresser closer to the john,

Than it is to my pillow.

I’d stagger to the sink, still in the dark.

Splash water in my eyes, providing the spark,

To shift my dragging spirit out of park.

And from there I would accelerate.

But sometimes I start at a slower pace,

When I’m more likely to put my face,

Right back down on the pillow case,

And hope the alarm turns itself off.

During depression’s year long patches,

My spirit subsides and self doubt hatches.

That’s when I know that all my matches,

Have somehow gotten wet.

I’ve always got a half empty glass.

Too easily on life’s pleasures I’d pass.

Searching for reasons to sit on my ass.

And making simple decisions was futile.

No doubt I thought about the past too much.

When I wasn’t focused on the soft touch.

While I leaned on my hobbies like a crutch.

Knowing that there had to be a better way.

Then Zoloft changed my fall to spring,

It allowed me to focus on just one thing.

Including song lyrics which people might sing.

And I could better filter communications.

It’s good to be patient as the match book dries.

And Zoloft helps serotonin levels rise.

Until I get back the urge to exercise.

Which is part of the problem all along.

So if you know just how I’ve felt,

It’s probably time to ask for help.

Before you end up like Brad Delp.

The lead vox on “More Than A Feeling.”

From whose singing I quote:

“When I'm tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped away

It's more than a feeling
(More than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play
(More than a feeling)
I begin dreaming
(More than a feeling)
'Til I see Marianne walk away”

The End

Legal notice: I do not own “More Than A Feeling” words and music by Tom Shultz