Hope

At quiet time this am we read the following by William Styron. It hit the mark for me, wanted to share it with you.

The poetic and profound writing is in its original form except for one word. For my own reading I chose in the second line to insert addiction and depression.” I also changed the format for my own ease of reading and remembering it.

For those who have dwelt
in depression's dark wood,
And known its inexplicable agony,
their return from the abyss
is not unlike the ascent
of the poet,
trudging upward and upward
out of hell’s black depths
and at last emerging
into what he saw
as “the shining world”.
There, whoever
has been restored to health
has almost always been restored
to the capacity for serenity and joy,
and this may be indemnity
enough for having endured
the despair beyond despair.

From Prayers for Healing. Edited by Maggie Oman

Jim