Counting the Mad

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by Donald Justice

This one was put in a jacket,
This one was sent home,
This one was given bread and meat
But would eat none,
And this one cried No No No No
All day long.

This one looked at the window
As though it were a wall,
This one saw things that were not there,
This one things that were,
And this one cried No No No No
All day long.

This one thought himself a bird,
This one a dog,
And this one thought himself a man,
An ordinary man,
And cried and cried No No No No
All day long.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 28, 2009 at 3:37 AM

    Ah ha! Loved this. :) What a great blog you got here - how in the world have I been missing this? Thanks for the follow on my blog yesterday - I'll definitely be back.

    The Old Silly from Free Spirit Blog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Batteson.IndMay 28, 2009 at 4:34 AM

    Really moving piece.... in relation to the photo, it makes for a very powerful piece of imagery...

    ReplyDelete
  3. RudeeMay 28, 2009 at 5:25 AM

    This is why I could never be a psych nurse. I'd much prefer to see the disease I'm treating-I'm not so good with the intangibles.

    Is this a play off The Three Little Pigs? I think it is.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RoseMay 28, 2009 at 5:38 AM

    That was kind of chilling; if it causes a strong reaction, isn't that good poetry? Thanks for all the poems you find and post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rosaria WilliamsMay 28, 2009 at 7:49 AM

    This is powerful and moving. It took me many places, with each stanza. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JCMay 28, 2009 at 7:59 AM

    Wow .. great poem and the photo ... well, it speaks volumes doesn't it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Teresa aka TessMay 28, 2009 at 9:02 AM

    And I realized I feel like all of them at one time or another all day long.

    ReplyDelete
  8. GailMay 28, 2009 at 3:06 PM

    This poem saddened me. It brought back times with Dad as he was stolen from us by Altzheimer's a piece at a time.

    The poem is good.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BarbMay 28, 2009 at 5:47 PM

    The poem was powerful but also ironic. What a pic!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Deanna Bland Hiott PhD, MSN, RNMay 28, 2009 at 8:31 PM

    You always find the most creative poems... This one manages to address mental illness in a black and white dry manner, amazing...

    ReplyDelete
  11. K.May 29, 2009 at 8:10 PM

    Hmm this sounds like the week I just had!

    ReplyDelete

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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