The big black dog

On a sunny day I was walking by

And it came, running my way

A big black dog,

With pleading eyes,

It licked my hand and had me pacified.

I embraced it with my whole being,

I made it my own.

My big black silent companion overwhelmed me.

It accompanied me wherever I went,

Playful, compassionate,

My silent companion filled my being, slowly, gradually!

The big black dog was

Always constant,

Always there.

Sometimes it came close, engulfed me,  

Sometimes it fled,

But at all times, it was omnipresent.

Slowly the bile rose, nauseated I felt,

The black dog grew larger,

Until no one else was there.

It engulfed me in shadows,

Until I was choking,

Breathless, stifled, lonely

And then it was still there,

Looking with the eyes of ownership,

Even when I lay and looked up at the ceiling,

I saw the silhouette of the big black dog crouching, growing,

Drawing patterns on the floor, across the floor,

Against the ceiling. 

And I was lost in the shadows,
Of my big black silent companion.