Misery
Misery is the illusion of what could have been
The greatness that never got to be
We do everything we can to keep it at bay
But for a long time, it will remain
Misery can come from small things in life
And also from the big things in life
It can come from simple boredom
Yet it can also come from having to deal with death
Misery is being reminded, constantly
Of ones mistakes, ones flaws
Everything that went wrong
And everything that will go wrong
Misery is coming home after a long day
Coming home to a house, empty of love
No one to welcome you at the door after a long day
Just plain emptiness, day after day, month after month
Misery is loneliness after a great party
A permanent state, for many
A state, so easy to be in
Yet a state, so hard to get out of
Misery is going to sleep being sad
Dreaming about the greatest of things
Nightmares are for most only rare
Just to wake up again to the nightmare that is ones life
Misery is the feeling of never being enough
For nothing and nobody
A feeling of powerlessness, though one wants change
It breaks one down, piece by piece
Misery is that strong sense of grief
Grief about everything
Grief about nothing
But, grief nonetheless
Misery is almost universal
Experienced by billions before us
By billions right at this very moment
And billions in the future even
But know this however, “misery was”
That’s what the dictionaries will say one day
Still misery, although in that beautiful past tense
But until that day comes, “misery”, “a part of the human condition”
Posted Apr 4, 2020, 12:55 AM UTC
Hey :). I hope you are okay with tough love. I know poetry is extremely personal but my intention here is to critique the piece only and not the lovely person behind it.
This piece feels confused. The length of the poem weakens the intensity of the emotion you describe. The tone is too technical - the narrator almost sounds as if they enjoy describing misery.
Furthermore, you have to leave some of the interpretation to the reader. If you list all the ways people feel miserable, then you leave nothing left to say - and poetry should not be one-sided.
Topics like misery can be complicated to write about because of all the cliches. It's like tiptoeing through a minefield.
All that being said, writing about emotions is incredibly therapeutic. Sometimes what we end up with might not resonate with others how we want it to but we're still better off for having written it.