Headline Poem 3/4/14 -- there is an ice chest in the corner

(Photo credit CNN)

I read this headline today from CNN about the rates of mental disorders being higher among soldiers than civilians. Although the article focuses on the military, and suicide rates, today's poem is really about anything from phobias to depression or anxiety.

there is an ice chest in    the    corner

a box
with no windows
    no doors
no curtains with
 little fruit pieces
bundled and tied
no      mantle with pictures placed neatly so
 ceilings low
suffocating
slowly

there is an ice chest in     the       corner
which offers some relief
but
you're not sure
you can open it             without support
even though     you've opened it   before, alone
and know
how
that
feels
in fact you've been doing it for years

but now
   you don't trust yourself
and think
it impossible to try

(irrational and illogical)

uneasy   of     your     own  hands
help is     possible    
it isn't on its       way
it's  inside the  box
inside   the  chest
inside of you