Red to Blue and Back Again

She thought it was just a hint of depression,

the way sadness crept upon her like a spider

waiting to weave a web to entangle and entrap—

but then her mood became like a pendulum

swinging back and forth and back again

till it was a wonder how she could laugh and cry

all at once, the salty tears saturating her open mouth.

Happiness became a fleeting thing, like a stranger

waving hello before hurrying to disappear from view.

And her frustration with herself grew until she saw

red everywhere, permeating and blurring all the lines.

Only when she took a few deep breaths or hummed a tune

did the bliss of blue wash over her, like a wave meeting shore.

That was how life began to go—red to blue, blue to red—

until her mind could not take the shifts anymore.

Her vibrant reds crashed against the calming blues,

the colors bleeding as if it were a kind of war zone,

but she was the only combatant in this one-way battle.

Anyone might have plummeted from such a struggle—

some days she didn't even think she would make it—

yet she came out the other end, her clothes splattered

with the wreckage of the red-blue-red-blue tussle,

and it was finally time to say, clearly, "I need help."