When my mother got depressed

She could not get out of bed

Refused to eat

She thought she had cancer

She thought she was dying, that’s how bad she felt

Came to terms with imminent death

When the doctor said she was fine

She snarled at him

Unbelieving.

He showed her the tests, the x-rays, the labs

The doctor suggested a psychiatrist who

Diagnosed a chemical imbalance in my mother’s brain

And recommended a pill

Together with a course of psychotherapy.

So she got out of bed

And started eating again.

After a few months of weekly visits to the psychiatrist

She declared herself cured.

But for the next thirty years took the pill

Just as a precaution.