Trapped & uncomfortable within his own skin
A stranger to himself, an unwanted squatter inhabits his mind
Eyes turned downward towards the pavement in search of an escape,
Scared that he may disappear into oblivion if his glance were to meet the glance of another.
Judgmental eyes, look on, amused & bewildered by behaviors that their minds only perceive as strange, disgusting or scary.
He taps three times, a brief pause & three again before entering the shop.
There's a visible discomfort & extreme apprehension as he forces himself over & past the doorstep.
This process occurs every time he walks through a doorway...coming & going.
A preoccupied look has taken ownership of his face, he's rattled by the loud & unreasonable voice that screams within his head .
Filling his mind with thoughts of dread, it tells him lies.
Mean, cruel lies about what is going to happen to him or to his loved ones if he does a certain thing or doesn't do a certain thing.
Hís mind & body are a prime example of a person engulfed with a very real fear.
A fear that I suspect would mirror the fear of a person faced with a most certain, unavoidable imminent death.
'Fear' is the mother of all cruelty
My heart goes out to this poor man & to others that are inflicted with this cursed illness
I would love to have the means to take his fear away
To take these obtrusive, unwanted thoughts & encapsulate them in a tamper proof box.
Never, ever to be opened again.
Why?
Why is it that this happens to some people?
I want to wrap my arms around them in a safe warm embrace.
I wish I could give them peace
So that they can enjoy the very simplest pleasures of life.
Things that us 'normal' people take for granted
A stranger to himself, an unwanted squatter inhabits his mind
Eyes turned downward towards the pavement in search of an escape,
Scared that he may disappear into oblivion if his glance were to meet the glance of another.
Judgmental eyes, look on, amused & bewildered by behaviors that their minds only perceive as strange, disgusting or scary.
He taps three times, a brief pause & three again before entering the shop.
There's a visible discomfort & extreme apprehension as he forces himself over & past the doorstep.
This process occurs every time he walks through a doorway...coming & going.
A preoccupied look has taken ownership of his face, he's rattled by the loud & unreasonable voice that screams within his head .
Filling his mind with thoughts of dread, it tells him lies.
Mean, cruel lies about what is going to happen to him or to his loved ones if he does a certain thing or doesn't do a certain thing.
Hís mind & body are a prime example of a person engulfed with a very real fear.
A fear that I suspect would mirror the fear of a person faced with a most certain, unavoidable imminent death.
'Fear' is the mother of all cruelty
My heart goes out to this poor man & to others that are inflicted with this cursed illness
I would love to have the means to take his fear away
To take these obtrusive, unwanted thoughts & encapsulate them in a tamper proof box.
Never, ever to be opened again.
Why?
Why is it that this happens to some people?
I want to wrap my arms around them in a safe warm embrace.
I wish I could give them peace
So that they can enjoy the very simplest pleasures of life.
Things that us 'normal' people take for granted
I would love for the community to understand that mental illness (all kinds of mental illness) are just that, illnesses. People whom suffer from these illnesses cannot just snap out of it or pull it together as they would have heard from many a people in their lives.
We need to show compassion to the sufferers of such illnesses ...not ridicule them. They are already living in their very own hell on earth!
smiles. thanks for this one...
ReplyDeleteYour welcome..cheers Brian!
ReplyDeleteI agree Katherine. One of my bestfriends have a mental illness that prevented us from remaining friends. When I c him I wish I could snap him out of it, but I can't. His relatives tell me he doesn't remember our encounter, but I wouldn't put myself in a bad spot once again. I just pray for him cause it's not his fault.
ReplyDeleteHi Champ it is difficult for relationships to be maintained when mental illness is not managed well. It can be a very long & difficult journey for some sufferers to find treatment that works to control the symptoms of the illness & sometimes it is a combination of more than one treatment. For some though this never happens & it is devastating.
ReplyDeleteNot all people that suffer from mental illness are dangerous or threatening though...in fact a very small percentage are. Most times the labels mental illness, schizophrenia, psychosis etc conjure up images of evil, scary people & all the suffers I know are so not like that. There is a stigma surrounding these kinds of illness.
I am however aware that there are some suffers, often with multiple diagnosis, that can be this way...and it is terribly isolating & sad for them. I pray your friend finds some peace.
Thanks for posting and drawing attention to this Katherine. I have a brother who's been afflicted for over 30 years! Sometimes I feel guilty because he's had no life to speak of, trapped in his inner hell. More people need to take a compassionate view like yours.
ReplyDeleteRick I am so sorry your brother, yourself & your family have been affected by the ravages of mental illness. It is so difficult on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteI feel for your brother & family because this is often a very unforgiving world, people just don't understand & can be very judgmental & thoughtless.
These illnesses are also often a life long curse and this has a marked effect on their lives & the lives of family members.
As family members...we can only do what we can do & what they (the sufferer) will allow us to do. Please don't carry guilt!
Ooh...how sweetly touching...and what a sweet challenge to many a human soul...filled with soulful beats of a soulful soul crying out for a lonely soul..hmmm...what a soulful read!Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteAwoken Soul! I am pleased you like what I have written because it is a very real problem that so many fail to understand. Thank you!
ReplyDeletehttp://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/thursday-poets-rally-week-15-april-22-28-2010/
ReplyDeletewe are from Thursday poets Rally,
you are represented as fresh poets to know,
please read the link above and consider being a participant.
love your blog and work!
;)
I LOVE this!!
ReplyDeleteJingle & Ji Star ... Thank you for your comments...I am off to work now but will definitely have a look at the poets rally link sometime over the weekend...thank you both!
ReplyDelete