where has all the joy gone?
its fleeting face has turned.
i reach and call and beg for it,
but on this day it spurned.

where has all the hope gone?
it was once as grains of sand.
but like those tiny pebbles,
it has slipped out through my hand.

where has all the warmth gone?
the cold surrounds me like the night.
i shiver and i shake, alas,
a fire will not light.

where has all the wonder gone?
each day is but a chore.
biding time until the bitter end,
no courage to think of more.

where has all the desire gone?
want has packed its bag.
just sit and stare and try to think,
as head and shoulders sag.

when shall my life return to me?
if indeed it ever will.
might the present dome of hell lift up,
or will time instead stand still.

if there is a point to living,
and i suppose it must be so.
then change will come for all of us,
i hope today begins the flow.

Sean Scott—February 2021