He told me his symptoms and I listened intently

I tried to empathize, to speak gently

All the things they teach in school

I thought about my gremlins as he talked about his ghouls

His job, his parents, the president

On and on he went

He was a clean cut, nice looking guy

He said he wanted to give medication a try

How would we know things were moving in the right direction

I asked if he had a disorder or just an imperfection

He said, “I want to be happy and to not worry or be snappy”

I could hear that jaunty song play

I pushed down my feelings, my conscience, then prescribed a drug

Said I’d see him back in a few days, my form of a helpless shrug

On his way out the door, I also told him to exercise

To stay off social media

To avoid toxins

He’d feel more alive

Oh, and to look inside

Because finger pointing is self-disjointing

And excuses are nooses

My gremlins talk to me everyday

But I refuse to let them get in the way

I saw that guy again a few weeks later

He said he was happier and less worried

I asked if he was taking the pill

He said yeah, the second one – the one that’s greater

Some walking and weights changed his fate

He told me he worked on his relationships by going to the graveyard

He took down all his ghouls with a shovel

We both agreed that ghouls and gremlins cause a lot of trouble

I knew we were moving in the right direction when he said, “Facing them is a start”