mental health poems

Inside

Something’s missing inside him.
Perhaps it’s that his father
Rarely spent time with him,
Or his mother was demanding.
In any case, he wanders through
Life hiding a painful ulcer,
A part of him that never heals.

In every one of his companies
His employees suffer the consequences of
How he was treated as a child.
They toil long hours for little pay,
With no benefits or future,
Enabling him to buy the toys
That will never bring him joy.

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Same Thing

It didn’t dawn on me that
Maybe you had a different
Perspective than mine so
I forged ahead with what I
Thought was best and turned
Out to be the worst thing
Possible for someone who
Was hurting and needed
Comfort rather than fixing.
I’ll think twice next time and
Do the same thing again.

No Use Arguing

As always,
There’s no use arguing,
He’s not seeing
The issue from a
Rational perspective,
Mired in fear,
Listening skills limited
To non-existent
On the best day,
He hangs onto
Assorted fantasies
Because they prop up
His sense of himself.

Abandon

So easy to discard,
An afterthought
Requiring no careful
Consideration.

Reduce worth,
Render insignificant,
Nothing but a haplessly
Toiling number.

Remove any vestiges of
Humanity,
Disconnect,
Abandon.

Release

No matter how much evidence or
Fact is involved, make sure to hang
On to flimsy defensive devices,
Ensuring perpetual paralysis.

Clear a wide swath of disconsolate
Despair. Never budge; even the
Slightest gesture a capitulation to
Those who would unmask you.

Outside your sphere of comprehension,
Compassionate eyes keep a vigil.
Awaiting awakening, earnest
Hope for insight and release.

Something Unexpected

Something unexpected supervenes.
Interrupts the day, reorganizes
Carefully ordered schedule,
Rearranges blocks of time and
Expectation, elicits an outpouring of
Vituperative discontent.

Disregard

Cavalierly excuses himself
When she deferentially
Asks for help for her family.
A rigged game dependent on
Her subservience and
Fear of merciless reprisal.
Surviving day to day
On the fringes of a
Community that scorns her,
Demeans her very existence,
Considers her less than a person.
Spoiled starched gentlemen,
Primped wilting ladies,
An air of contrived civility
Masks a ruthless
Disregard for humanity.

Run by Robots

Faceless behemoth,
Unaccountable,
Cold, unhelpful,
Unnecessarily complicated,
Lacking even the
Slightest bit of
Compassion,
No hint of humanity,
Run by robots.

An Insight

Optimistically thinking
They were seeing the world
From her vantage point.

Belatedly realizing that
Empathy is a skill
Not everyone possesses.

An insight that
Brings with it both
Relief and sadness.