the advertisement
begins so joyously
with bright happy faces
before shifting
tonally to darkness
interlaced with sorrow
a soft voice whispers
of the weight of
bipolar depresssion
and i watch wondering
is this the cure to
a lifetime of struggle
can my mind mend itself
with this magical pill
that’s me the kind voice
is referring to
i am the sadness and
this is the one chance
to escape my affliction
then the voice speeds up
the screen fills with
tiny print and i hear
new buzzwords like
permanent locked muscles
may increase suicidal
ideation in the young
and cause death in the
elderly while quickly
glossing over that these
are not the only potential
side effects and i begin
to realize my suffering
may not be as bad as
i previously believed
so what if i cannot
force myself to leave
or can barely function
the cost of life is
a most certain death
no need for new toxins
masquerading as cures
to expedite its approach

it is a billion dollar
industry creating pills
that cure just enough
and introduce new symptoms
the next pill cam fight
until you have taken
so many fucking pills
you need a new liver as
your kidneys fail and
they mark you down as
another statistic to show
the stockholders why
this research is necessary
to save lives long enough
to milk every last cent
from the poor bastards
who have never been healthy