Bipolar Christmas

This is said like the story Twas The Night Before Christmas
This is a true but sad story of one Christmas my children had to face.

It’s two weeks till Christmas and all through the house
Not a thing is prepared and it’s quiet as a mouse
The children are sad cause their mom’s not there
She’s ill in the hospital–it’s surely unfair
But it’s happened before, and the kids have no hope
That this will be different–they’ll just have to cope
It’s been two long weeks since this relapse began
When she went without sleep for a house spic and span
Her speech was so rapid, they scare understood
Her excitement and restlessness was more than it should
Her irritable mood, her anger and fear
Were way beyond normal, there much was quite clear
Her family decided (it wasn’t too soon)
To hospitalize her that same afternoon
When they went down to visit the following week
She no longer smiled…and would hardly speak
Her mood was so low she just wanted to sleep
To be left alone to think and to weep
She stayed in bed refusing all food
Nothing they tried made a change in her mood
The depression grew worse and the pain grew inside
Till the only solution seemed to be suicide
Then gradually the medicines given her, worked
She emerged from the dark to the world she had shirked
The professionals call it manic depression
Or Bipolar Disorder…but that’s just and expression
The people who have it really know best
How this illness can be an impossible test
To get back to the family I’m talking about
It seems they will have to manage without
The gifts, and the turkey, the music and tree
Given up happily all will agree
In exchange for a wife and mother most dear
Who’ll be home from the hospital just in time for the New Year

I know somehow how you felt Beth. I have a cousin with manic depression, and I saw him when unwell
Two years back depression could have got hold of me, I could not take Middle East wars and problems, I hoped that peace will land there before the end of my days and I had other private problems. It was only for my faith, and God sent cure for me: writing, I got through bad time alone with no one even my family knowing what was going on inside my mind. I published two poetry books ( Arabic) and six more are ready for publication.
Your writing is great,you have to publish it if you did not do that already.
MY family loved you instantly

Not sure any of poems are worth publishing, I do have them in a notebook binder in plastic to preserve them. I have a lot of dark and depressing poems. Not sure they would be suitable for this forum though. Thanks for you critiques.