Dedicated to all those who are suffering, unnoticed, this Mental Health Awareness Week.
You are NOT alone.
I'm not mad - it's just
these electro-chemical messengers
in my brain who seem
to have their wires crossed.
Although not always.
Just sometimes.
I'm often just as sane
as anyone else.
But at those other times,
a switch trips somewhere
in the circuit, sending
my mind into overdrive...
Can you really not see
the Moon smiling at you?
Surely you don't expect
me to be rude and ignore her
when she enquires how I am today?
Your face is a picture, simply because
I'm deep in conversation with her
about the Universe.
Such a facinating subject.
All these pretty little planets
swirling around my head.
They remind me of the bubbles
I used to blow as a child.
And look - our Earth!
Such a beautiful blue bauble,
like something you'd find hanging
from the branch of a Christmas tree.
So tiny, so fragile.
I can blot it out
with just one hand.
That's how powerful I am today.
Wow!
They've transformed into butterflies.
Multi-coloured, faery-like creatures.
Can you see their wings flapping?
So fast they're becoming a blur, and
they're growing rapidly;
are huge now.
Think I'll climb on the back
of this bright yellow one and
hitch a ride to the far side
of our galaxy.
I've often longed to know
what it's like out there,
in space.
Why are you looking so worried?
It can't be that dangerous.
Where's your spirit of adventure?
You fret too much lately,
like when you found me
scaling the church tower
at 3am last Sunday morning.
Remember how you panicked
and called the police and fire service?
You told them I was trying
to rescue my cat.
What on earth made you say that?
You know full well that
I can fly, and simply needed
an elevated take-off point!
And I can shapeshift too.
Bet you didn't know that!
I was a Dragon last night,
with deep red glistening scales.
I flew twice around the equator
and breathed my fiery breath
on all the negativity in the world,
turning it into harmless
smoldering ash.
See - my mouth is still sore
from the flames!
As for time, well,
that never did restrict me.
I observed the building
of Egypt's pyramids;
helped Merlyn erect Stonehenge.
I fought in the battle of Waterloo;
visited Mars in fifty-ten.
I witnessed the birth of women's suffrage;
the execution of Charles the first.
So Wells' novel 'The Time Machine'
was probably based on me!
How I wish such incredible adventures
never had to end.
But I've learned from grim experience
that these accursed wires
will again dis-intersect
and short-circuit my mental prowess.
And when they do
I'll be drawn once more
into my pit of dark despair,
where my only hope of eventual escape
is through a hangman's noose.
Those clever electricians
can re-wire our homes
to render them totally safe.
So how come no brilliant doctor has learned
to re-wire the human brain?
.
You are NOT alone.
I'm not mad - it's just
these electro-chemical messengers
in my brain who seem
to have their wires crossed.
Although not always.
Just sometimes.
I'm often just as sane
as anyone else.
But at those other times,
a switch trips somewhere
in the circuit, sending
my mind into overdrive...
Can you really not see
the Moon smiling at you?
Surely you don't expect
me to be rude and ignore her
when she enquires how I am today?
Your face is a picture, simply because
I'm deep in conversation with her
about the Universe.
Such a facinating subject.
All these pretty little planets
swirling around my head.
They remind me of the bubbles
I used to blow as a child.
And look - our Earth!
Such a beautiful blue bauble,
like something you'd find hanging
from the branch of a Christmas tree.
So tiny, so fragile.
I can blot it out
with just one hand.
That's how powerful I am today.
Wow!
They've transformed into butterflies.
Multi-coloured, faery-like creatures.
Can you see their wings flapping?
So fast they're becoming a blur, and
they're growing rapidly;
are huge now.
Think I'll climb on the back
of this bright yellow one and
hitch a ride to the far side
of our galaxy.
I've often longed to know
what it's like out there,
in space.
Why are you looking so worried?
It can't be that dangerous.
Where's your spirit of adventure?
You fret too much lately,
like when you found me
scaling the church tower
at 3am last Sunday morning.
Remember how you panicked
and called the police and fire service?
You told them I was trying
to rescue my cat.
What on earth made you say that?
You know full well that
I can fly, and simply needed
an elevated take-off point!
And I can shapeshift too.
Bet you didn't know that!
I was a Dragon last night,
with deep red glistening scales.
I flew twice around the equator
and breathed my fiery breath
on all the negativity in the world,
turning it into harmless
smoldering ash.
See - my mouth is still sore
from the flames!
As for time, well,
that never did restrict me.
I observed the building
of Egypt's pyramids;
helped Merlyn erect Stonehenge.
I fought in the battle of Waterloo;
visited Mars in fifty-ten.
I witnessed the birth of women's suffrage;
the execution of Charles the first.
So Wells' novel 'The Time Machine'
was probably based on me!
How I wish such incredible adventures
never had to end.
But I've learned from grim experience
that these accursed wires
will again dis-intersect
and short-circuit my mental prowess.
And when they do
I'll be drawn once more
into my pit of dark despair,
where my only hope of eventual escape
is through a hangman's noose.
Those clever electricians
can re-wire our homes
to render them totally safe.
So how come no brilliant doctor has learned
to re-wire the human brain?
.
Very thought provoking indeed :-).
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Windsmoke :)
DeleteBrilliantly done Ygraine! I ran a mental health programme for ten years and took advantage of evey opportunity that arose to have a 'stall' to promote mental health awareness. but there is such a stigma attached to mental health that my stall was the least visited! There would be no more than 2 people a day if that and the odd person who had taken the wrong turn! People were too afraid to even venture inside! I don't know what they expected to find because all I offered was information on the various types of mental health issues and means of support. Nobody wants to be seen inside a mental health stall :D But why? It's not catchy nor incurable :D Another wonderful subject Ygraine!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Rose.
DeleteI can't understand why there is such a stigma attached to mental health issues either. If someone suffers a physical illness, then people understand and are sympathetic; but mental health patients tend to be avoided as though they have the plague!
It is an illness like any other, isn't it?
clever and insightful, Y. the "voice" is very natural and charming.
ReplyDeleteThank you Paige.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to help raise awareness of mental health issues and show how sufferers are just normal people who have to live with a sometimes life-threatening condition, often without any support because they are so misunderstood.