Ward 4.2

[Delta40]

Twitchy folk, silent folk, babbling folk
shuffle down the corridor
like a chain gang to 'visit' the hospital cafe.
The nurse mouths carefully
Won't that be nice everyone?
Just this morning she said I am listed unsafe
and could not join them yet.
F uck off then I say and attend a self-esteem group instead.
I action the first step toward it then stop midair
as a lifeless patient is wheeled back to his room
after electro-convulsive therapy.
I ponder how quickly his voluntary signature
translated into a waiver of his rights
I bet he once went for group walks.
Nobody outside has control of the matter
but apparently I am here to regain it.
I nearly lost my tongue but I still have
something to say as I mull over decaf or milo
and pour a safe plastic cup of boiling water.
If I ever see a psychiatrist, I'll be sure to mention it.
Meantime, broken spirited moccasins scuff along a floor
whose history is coated with
bucketfuls of vomit
litres of piss
and the odd dollop of s***e
We all stand around the pool table
watching a game not in play
and try to imagine our local bar.
I take up smoking to pass the eternity of time
absorbing the unkempt garden
wondering how on earth it ever got like this.

[Delta40]

I've really missed being online guys and am glad to be back

[everyadventure]

We missed you too! Change your avatar to celebrate!! (I do so miss the sock puppet.)

A vividly disturbing poem here. Couldn't tell if it was the loony bin or the old folks' home. Guess there isn't too much difference, eh?

[Jerrybaldy]

Welcome back Vegi. What with you and haunted giving it a go I am gonna try too. I loved the vomit and the shi te but I prefer f uck to f*ck but that is just personal preference :D Miss you already

[Delta40]

Thanks EA. The sock puppet will return at some stage. ECT is carried out daily in psych wards all over the country.

Edited for f uck you Jerry

[zoolane]

Great poem and scared. Hell I think being home would be safe be there. Welcome back. XXXXXX

[Delta40]

Thanks Zoo. I got really ill in hospital. The fever finally broke last night and I think I'm gonna live...!

[Haunted]

Scary, excellent vista of the psyche ward and as well as the psyches that call it home.

Welcome back Delta, I was wondering what happened to you. Get back to full health soon. I missed you and your stuff. Jerry, you are not going anywhere!

[paperleaves]

Welcome back! I used to work in a hospital, and very frequently, the psychiatric ward, and this poem perfectly encapsulates what it is that scared the piss out of me there. Such a vibrant poem!

[AuntShecky]

God bless you, Delta.

[Delta40]

Thank you all. I'm glad to be home.

[twoheadedboy]

It reminds me of "one flew over the cuckoos nest" by ken kesey in a really good way.

(Considering that is one of my favorite movies.)


Delta, are you published anywhere? Because I really think your work deserves to be published. I don't know if I mean on a national level because you might have to do some selling out for that to happen. But I think you're poetry resounds with people in a great way, but yet it's deeply personal. I want more of that kind of intimate, hard hitting poetry on the book shelves!

[Delta40]

Wow thanks THB! I'm not published anywhere as yet, mainly because I haven't tried. I get a little overwhelmed with the technicians of poetry (can't even remember what syntax means!) I'm home grown, if you know what I mean...

[Maryd.]

Good one girl. You champion. Glad you have returned.

[Delta40]

Good one girl. You champion. Glad you have returned.

hugs. Your return is on the horizon Maryd....

[Maryd.]

Where? Can you see it???

[Delta40]

Dimly, in the distance there is a tiny flickering light. I'm hoping that is you.

[Maryd.]

Delta.... Are you seeing things again... Hahaha. I think I will shine one day. But that is further than you think. :) :) :)

[Delta40]

I will take comfort in your lighthouse beacon until you row to shore then Maryd.

[MystyrMystyry]

I find that when people start going nutty it's best they have a visible hobby rather than just an intellectual hobby. This way they can see how far they've come rather that just try to comprehend/guess how far they may have come (which in an ocean with nothing but horizon on all sides may seem like they've come to a complete standstill).

When people have hobbies they may tend to become a bit obsessive, but it's better than the alternative of completely flipping out - direction is everything.

Some people think what if I choose the wrong direction? What they should do is not sit around thinking about which direction, but just go for it and decide later if it's the right one - in this way they will be able to see that they've made some progress and there's land in sight (which is far better than being all at sea)


This message has been brought to you by MystyrMystyry's Elementary Psychology 101 :)

[Maryd.]

Hahaha... Do you have a spare oar? Hahaha

[twoheadedboy]

Wow thanks THB! I'm not published anywhere as yet, mainly because I haven't tried. I get a little overwhelmed with the technicians of poetry (can't even remember what syntax means!) I'm home grown, if you know what I mean...



I know exactly what you mean. I try not to worry too much about the technical aspects of poetry, and I see in your writing that you don't really care about it either. I like that. I think that is probably why I'm naturally drawn to your writings. They seem real. Unadulterated. I love that in writing. Not enough of it out there.

Homegrown, I like that. I'll have to use that.

[Delta40]

I find that when people start going nutty it's best they have a visible hobby rather than just an intellectual hobby. This way they can see how far they've come rather that just try to comprehend/guess how far they may have come (which in an ocean with nothing but horizon on all sides may seem like they've come to a complete standstill).

When people have hobbies they may tend to become a bit obsessive, but it's better than the alternative of completely flipping out - direction is everything.

Some people think what if I choose the wrong direction? What they should do is not sit around thinking about which direction, but just go for it and decide later if it's the right one - in this way they will be able to see that they've made some progress and there's land in sight (which is far better than being all at sea)


This message has been brought to you by MystyrMystyry's Elementary Psychology 101 :)

Uhm....ok. Do I pass?