Black Dog (or The Black Dog Always Rings Twice)

NOTE

It was known that, throughout most of his adult life,

Sir Winston Churchill suffered with arbitrary bouts of depression.

He coined his malady "black dog." This is a tribute to the man and the legend.

   I.

The entity at my door

Moves to find a way in through a window,

Or up through the floor,

And into me like none I've known before.

   II.

It rings once,

Knowing I am alone--

It rings twice--

A king, I hide

In the shadow of my throne.

   III.

He might not ring again,

Until months have gone by.

He could appear on the wind,

And as quickly pass me on by;

   IV.

Or he could show his teeth at

The very second I open the door.

And if it shows to be that

Is the case, I might not fair well anymore--

   V.

I might never be well again,

As I had before

The entity that darkened my door

Found way in through a window,

Or up through the floor,

And into me like none I've known before.

   VI.

It rings once,

Knowing I am alone--

It rings twice--

A king, I weep

In the shadow of my throne.

   VII.

Now the chance for me to concede peacefully

May never come again;

If I should be so cavalier as to face this entity--

Or, even worse, to let him in.

   VIII.

The black dog has no sympathy,

Nor does he rest peacefully on my porch;

But he comes so insidiously,

Fearing neither flame or torch,

   IX.

As the entity that darkens my door

Moves to find way in through a window,

Or up through the floor,

And into me like none I've known before.

   X.

It rings once,

Knowing I am alone--

It rings twice--

A king, I hide

In the shadow of my throne.

Reviews

[7's]

these lines "it rings once..." creates a melody like a background score after some lyrical well empathized works.
all other lines explains you the scenes and these part binds you again to reset and read to completion... that off-beat really renews the rhythm with same tone each time.
great lyrical poetic work.

[Louis McKraker]

Thank you so much. I'm happy you enjoyed it. This was a really weird trial and error poem for me.

[7's]

keep it safe for ever for me...
all to the musical works...
try your wierd hands on lyrics as well. i'd love them

[Louis McKraker]

i actually have a song and lyric collection, but it almost seemed tacky against all of my other work. I will put some of them up though just for you my friend. Check back in a couple of days.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Wow omg this is wonderful
I have no words

[light and ashes]

Superb writing, depression is a very enigmatic thing.....it does seem to be it's own entity and phenomenon. It is merciless. The way it wreaks the mind and emotions...it can be extremely devasting.

[Marie-Louise.]

Wow! What can I say? You have captured the loneliness of depression. To feel like that with Satan knocking at your door, no wonder he drank into the night. Churchill would perhaps be comforted to know that somebody understood. Well done. I shall think about your words all day. Thank you.

[Louis McKraker]

Thank you, Old Novice.
When it come to writing about depression I have something of an advantage. I spent years researching the field in my twenties. Fortunately, I don't have those problems anymore. They are still nice to capture on paper here and there, though.

[Cherrie Palmer]

There is no getting around that old dog, when he shows up.

Your poem is a very lyrical tribute to a great man who rallied a nation in its blackest hour.

[Louis McKraker]

Thank you, Cherrie.
I love the way he did so much in spite of his own mental problems. Churchill is one of my heroes.