Lady of the Asylum
Lady of the Asylum
I walk the ward in trepidation, not knowing what I’ll find,
So many questions were swirling in my ever curious mind.
You are sitting in the dayroom, reading bible verse out loud
You are eloquent of speech and to this observer, proud.
I approach you at your calling; I sit obediently by your side,
You tell me to listen carefully to the book that never lied.
I listen intently to your voice which reverberates with glee,
You ask me what I believe in, what faith means to me.
I tell you that I believe in love, that this is the only faith I serve,
I sense your agitation; I can tell my words have hit a nerve.
“God is love”, you tell me, "He is who you should bow to and adore,
Our father who art in heaven, the one I’m in here for”
I must have looked very confused, as you begin to laugh at me,
You tell me that I should open my mind, so that I can truly see.
You tell me you have three children, 2 lovely girls and an adorable boy,
They live with their daddy quite happily; they are your pride and joy.
I ask you if you ever see them, do they know why you are here,
You nod at me quite slowly and say “of course they do my dear”
"My children are with their father in heaven, they are happy as I’ve said,
The only way to save them my dear was to ensure that they were dead”
My mouth opened slightly as if to speak, but I couldn’t utter a sound,
“They went to sleep peacefully’ she said ‘’like angels heaven bound".
I listened in silence as you told me of the holy pillow you held in your hand,
“It was a sign from God you see, I had to do it, you must understand?"
“I sent the children to their daddy, away from the sins of this earth,
The pillow took them home you see, they’re death was their rebirth"
A ward full of lost souls, women who committed crimes few of us can comprehend,
Minds ravaged with a distortion of reality; that for some, are too broken to mend!
I wrote this piece some years ago after working in a forensic mental health facility; we must strive to better understand mental illness in the hope of restoring peace to all our minds.....
