in need of more hugs

i'm so depressed,

the young man tells me over

the phone.

i'm blue

and sad,

i don't know what's wrong.

i pause,

and think about it,

then suggest to him

that maybe

it's because you live

in Portland,

and it rains every day,

the sky is a grey wet

rag that never clears.

maybe, just maybe it's

the crime, the trash, the cost

of living,

and perhaps you're drinking

too much beer,

smoking too much weed,

not working,

and playing video games

all day.

no, he says, it's not that at all.

i think it's my childhood.

i wasn't hugged enough.