Always madness at the door
Unmedicated schizophrenics
Rambling to mirror images
Muttering rhetoric and racism
Denying their mental illness
Saying the CIA and NBN are analyzing their brainwaves
Saying there are messages for them in X-Press
Saying the whole planet is controlled by the Masons
Convinced that their medication is poison
Convinced they speak to God
But these are God's children
And we must love them no matter how irritating they may be
In tribal societies they would be shaman
With one foot in the realm of Spirit and one foot in reality
Hearing voices of the dead and interpreting them for the tribe
Speaking in poetry
Mystifying and incandescent
We used to fill them full of anti-psychotics and sit them in corners
Increasingly now they roam free
Sometimes inspiring, sometimes annoying
Sometimes dangerous to themselves or others
But they make the world a more interesting place
Timothy Parkin (Western Australia)
An independent poetry journal. Watch your step.
Psychiatrism. It stops with me. This anti-survivor piece is horrific. Shame on Jackson for publishing it.
ReplyDeleteundecided as well might be a title... cant seem to grasp the ultimate voice of the writer on this topic... hmmmm... and im wondering how he may know the depths of others' souls? something im missing? do you have a god complex or can you read minds?... that seems a bit pretentious.
ReplyDeleteTimothy Parkins... Of course schizophrenics are convinced their medication is poison. Just take a cursory glance at the side effects (effects none the less, or more to the point) of some of the drugs they are forced on you ignorant fool.
ReplyDeleteSchizophrenia is a psychiatrist's concocted lie as is ADHD, Bipolar...etc These widespread psychotropic toxins now directly KILL more than Cancer, Heart, Road-Deaths! Mental-health is a lie by psychiatrists parasiting themselves on a $28 Billion budget racket in Victoria! This piece is an odious attack on good people suffering deep emotional stress that should be loved and cared for. This piece is a vile demonizing discriminating judgemental divisive finger-pointing that does the community immense disservice it should NEVER have seen the light of day! Only give love and care, there is NOTHING ELSE worth living for! NOTHING! www.glennfloyd.org/oped.pdf www.glennfloyd.org/CPPA.pdf
ReplyDeleteThis poem appears to have hit a nerve, at least among those who have had horrible experiences involving psychiatrists and medications. The title is probably ill-chosen; however I don't read this poem as saying that people should be taking their meds -- and I certainly don't see it as anti-anyone. This poem is asking for acceptance and love even when understanding is difficult or impossible. I think this poem's speaker is brave in admitting that mentally ill people are sometimes hard to be around.
ReplyDeleteReaders may be interested to know that I am a mental health patient myself and I take my damn medicatiion---without it I go quite loopy. I try to set this as an example for some of my friends who don't. I also take anti-psychotics an unfortunate side effect of which is putting on weight.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlso.. crap poem
ReplyDeleteDavid Buzdygan, if you make any more comments about the poet rather than the poem I will ban you. Everyone, if you feel the need to talk with this poet or any other about their personal life please do so elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI will admit that sometimes it is difficult to make the distinction between discussing a poem, as an artwork, and discussing its subject matter. But calling the poet a fool, and so on, is not okay. You've made your opinions quite clear for anyone who cares to read them. I am now going to close comments on this post, because I, for one, have far better things to do.
ReplyDelete