Abilified

[miyako73]

Why did you ask me
what time it was?
You had a wristwatch.

Why did you follow me
all the way to the bus stop?
You had a parked gray Audi.

Why did you stare at me
like you wanted to ask?
You had my eyes, my name.

Why did I not take the pill
I perfectly cut in half?
I had my dark shadow again.

[PrinceMyshkin]

i would change "I perfectly cut in half" to "I cut perfectly in half", but that still leaves me with some mystery, both from the title and from that intriguing last verse... The latter is a statement of her complicity in the relationship she is so suspicious of to begin with but what, I wonder, has apparently changed her mind - into either a suicidal direction or a shared drug experience?

[miyako73]

it's about schizophrenia. I googled the pill for it. It's called Abilify.

[PrinceMyshkin]

it's about schizophrenia. I googled the pill for it. It's called Abilify.

I wonder if you might be making the common mistake re schizophrenia, with regards to which the term "split personality" actually means split from reality rather than split into two separate personalities.

[hillwalker]

Notwithstanding the psychological accuracy of what you based this piece on (Prince is absolutely correct - what you are actually writing about is Multiple Personality Syndrome or Dissociative Identity Disorder) it is still a clever little poem - which can be read as describing the aftermath of a relationship breakdown as well as recording a psychological crisis.

H

[adityasam]

Agree with hillwalker. But after reading this, I came to know how it feels after breaking a relationship cause I never maintained one. I liked your style very much, it's the same style which I follow; Simple and plain English

[miyako73]

I used schizo to have a feeling that the narrator was scared of her shadow, herself.

"Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness characterized by a disintegration of the process of thinking and of emotional responsiveness.[1] It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction."

from wikipedia (I seldom use as reference... hehehe)

I'm used to writing a short poem with multiple deep meanings.

In this poem, it can be about break up, stalking, and mental illness.

[PrinceMyshkin]

I'm hoping that someone will venture a guess as to why the persona had cut the pill she was supposed to take in half? An easy conjecture is that that was the prescription but if so it would hardly merit mentioning. In any case, the other significant thing is that she declined to take even the half.

A most intriguing poem, and as is usual with Miyako-san, accomplished with such elegance.

[Jerrybaldy]

If a poem has multiple meanings, does it have no one true meaning, is it all things to all men or do I just think too much?
Mystery adds its own depth and whatever the answer I enjoyed the trip to the bus stop.
cheers
JB

[PrinceMyshkin]

If a poem has multiple meanings, does it have no one true meaning, is it all things to all men or do I just think too much?
Mystery adds its own depth and whatever the answer I enjoyed the trip to the bus stop.
cheers
JB

An enlightened point of view, but wouldn't you want to be sure you're at the right bus stop?

[Alexander III]

Just because its not the intended bus stop does not mean it is a wrong bus stop

[billl]

I'm hoping that someone will venture a guess as to why the persona had cut the pill she was supposed to take in half? An easy conjecture is that that was the prescription but if so it would hardly merit mentioning. In any case, the other significant thing is that she declined to take even the half.

A most intriguing poem, and as is usual with Miyako-san, accomplished with such elegance.

Maybe cutting it in half was in deference to the Shadow's proclaimed right to refuse the medicine. Not taking it at all maybe symbolically represents not trying to make the Shadow go away anymore. To me, it seems like the last stanza is where the 'I' can finally speak to itself again, and recognizes its assailant.

That's just some guessing, of course, there's a lot to play with, and I don't at all mean to suggest that I have locked any of it down and figured it out--just wanted to have some fun taking a shot at it.